


Friends on the Other Side

by SirLadySketch



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: (Maybe? Idk), ...sexpacts (is that what you would call it?), Body Horror, Changelings, Court Politics, Dark Fantasy, Fae Courts, Fae Magic, Fae nobles being asshats, Fantasy AU, Golems, Horror, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Magic, One Night Stands, Roxas is late teens, Tags May Change, The importance of Names, Warnings of Vanitas being Vanitas, Witchcraft, bloodpacts, brief description of gore, brief implications of past Axel/Xemnas and Xemnas/Saix, brief mention of past Axel/Saix, halloween fic, implications of mindcontrol magic, implied past dubcon via magical means, mentions of HayRoku FWB, past HayRoku, puppet deconstruction, reference to past DemXi, the wild hunt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2019-08-08
Packaged: 2019-08-11 04:48:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 56,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16469060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SirLadySketch/pseuds/SirLadySketch
Summary: It was just a stupid dare: Take a selfie in the mansion courtyard at midnight to prove that the ghost didn't exist. Well, Roxas got to the mansion, the clock struck twelve, and then... he doesn't believe in ghosts. There's gotta be an explanation for the hooded figure who appeared in front of him, because if he doesn't believe in ghosts, hedefinitelydoesn't believe in other things that go bump in the night.Halloween/ Fantasy AU AkuRoku fic.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge thank you to Plants and Asia for their help in reading through this!! <3  
> I've tried to be thorough in tagging stuff, but if I missed something you think needs to be added, please let me know.

Roxas knew from the start that this was a stupid idea.

Even when he’d agreed to it, he knew that it wasn’t going to be fun. Why _had_ he let Hayner talk him into this? Maybe it’d been the late afternoon sunlight lulling him into a false sense of security, or maybe it’d been the promise of all the ice cream he could eat for a week once he’d sent proof that he’d done the dare. Either way, it’d all seemed silly and easy enough at the time.

_“It’s gotta be a full moon, and it’s gotta be midnight. Just wait in the old courtyard for the last bell toll, send us a selfie with the mansion in the background, and then you’re swimming in sea salt for a week.”_

He wasn’t afraid of things that go bump in the night. Ghosts and goblins didn’t exist, after all.

“ _Apparently it only appears if you’re alone, otherwise we’d all go.”_

Olette texted him at 11 to tell him he didn’t _really_ have to go if he felt uncomfortable, but Roxas sent the group a selfie around 11:30 when he’d gotten to the mansion’s gate, proving that he was gonna go through with it. It was probably just as well that they hadn’t been there anyway-- getting over the wall had been quite a challenge, and he was glad no one had witnessed the embarrassing scramble.

_“Some people say it’s the ghost of a kid who went missing ages ago. Other people say it’s something more supernatural, like ‘the silent watchers’, getting close to the boundaries between worlds.”_

_“What, you mean like elves and fairies? What are they supposed to be watching?” Roxas had asked, curious. Pence paused mid-description, closed his mouth to think on it. After a moment’s consideration, he just shrugged._

_“Us, I guess?”_

The courtyard had been empty when he finally got in, of course. He’d walked the perimeter, checking for places that people might jump out to scare him. He’d even tested the doors to the mansion but it was locked up tight against intruders, and for all the crumbling pillars, the walls and structures around the front courtyard were secure. There was no one here, and no one would be getting in without him knowing about it.

He shivered and checked his watch. 11:58. He wasn’t cold, per se; it was probably just the fact that he was out here alone, hanging out in the middle of a crumbling courtyard of a (possibly haunted?) mansion, waiting for the clock tower to strike midnight. There was no such thing as ghosts, he knew that. Whatever reports of strange shapes and visitors on the mansion grounds were probably just people messing around, if there were people at all. More likely it was just a breeze moving a curtain in the window of the abandoned house, or shadows shifting across the lawn because of wind in the trees.

Whatever it ended up being, when the clock tower finished its tolls he could snap a selfie to send to the gang and then run home to dive under the covers. Tomorrow he could yell at them for making him take on this stupid dare in the first place, and Hayner would owe him a week’s worth of ice cream.

He looked at his watch again. 11:59, may as well get into position. He’d spent some of the time when he’d gotten here figuring out the perfect spot to take his photo, although there weren’t _that_ many options. Still, he’d found a spot that was great, situated in the front of the yard so he could get more of the mansion in the shot. And if it left him a little closer to the gate? Well, that was just a perk of the position.

The stillness of the evening broke when the chiming melody of the train station clock tower began to play, and he stood transfixed, listening for the bell’s first chime.

_One._

He looked around the courtyard, not really expecting to see any sort of movement _because ghosts didn’t exist_. As expected, the area was quiet, not even a breeze to rustle the leaves. No shadows jumping out at him, no spectral companions.

The stillness might actually get to him before the ghosts-- he wasn’t used to things being so quiet. Without the chatter of birds in the trees or the distant sounds of town filtering through the trees, the courtyard felt kind of off, like it was waiting for something, too.

 _Two_.

When Hayner had mentioned the mystery of the mansion, he’d first thought it was some sort of elaborate joke, maybe something set up with the other kids to test his mettle. After all, Roxas had been wiping the floor with them in Struggle, so playing a harmless prank might be their way of knocking him down a peg or two. That, or Seifer had mentioned something offhand with the intent of teasing Hayner-- it wouldn’t be the first time those goons had tried something like that.

In fact, Roxas had half-expected to find Seifer and his gang hiding on the premises before he got there, but he’d thoroughly checked the area _twice_. Just as well. What kind of lame photo would he get if Vivi photobombed him? Seifer would get a good laugh and boast about how he’d found Roxas being a loser, staying up past his bedtime and looking for things that went bump in the night.

_Three._

Besides, the ghost was only supposed to show up if you were alone. If anyone else crashed the scene while he took his shot, that meant he’d have to come back _again_. Not that he was afraid, of course not, but since it was supposed to happen on a full moon that meant he’d have to wait a whole month before he could do this again, which would be a pain in the butt. Unless he could convince one of the others to do it next time, but they’d all probably think he’d chickened out, and he didn’t want them thinking _that_.

_Four._

How’d he even let them talk him into it, anyway? How’d things escalate from complaining about the lame explanations of the Twilight Town mysteries to build up to daring him into going to the old mansion, alone, to wait for the clock tower bell to strike midnight?

He liked ice cream, yeah, but he liked sleep even more, and he was definitely staying up past his bedtime to do this.

_Five._

Did something just move? He thought he saw a flash of white out of the corner of his eye, but he knew there was nothing there. There _couldn’t_ be anything there. Except maybe Seifer’s gang, but even they would have to make noise, and the courtyard was silent, except for the echo of the bell.

 _Six_.

It was Hayner’s fault. Roxas didn’t even think there was a ghost, he didn’t believe in that stupid spooky stuff. And Pence’s suggestion that it was elves or fairies or whatever was equally ridiculous. He and Olette agreed that it was probably just people breaking and entering for a bit of mischief and nothing else.

_Seven._

A shifting shadow, maybe. Or a trick of his eyes, since he was tired. For a moment he swore he saw someone standing by the mansion’s doors, but there was nothing there. There was nothing here at all, except for him, and he was getting himself worked up over nothing, jumping at shadows. He knew that. Knew it to his core.

_Eight._

So why did it seem to be getting _creepier_ by the minute?

_Nine._

Augh, he just wanted this over with, because, yeah, maybe it was a little spooky out here by himself. Nothing was moving but he _felt_ like there was stuff shifting in the shadows behind and around him, like someone or something was pacing back and forth.

_Ten._

But there wasn’t anything there, he’d _looked_. He’d even taken photos of the area to see if he could spot faces or those ghostly orb things people said signified ghosts in the area and there was nothing.

He checked his phone again, making sure the angle of the shot would catch his good side. That was the trouble with these stupid photo dares-- you were so busy trying not to look scared as you got the shot that you ended up looking dumb.

_Eleven._

Well, whatever. Just another 10 seconds or so. He wasn’t scared, just tired and _maybe_ a little creeped out -- I mean, who _wouldn’t_ be?-- but all he had to do was wait a few more seconds, take his photo, and he’d be done.

 _Twelve_.

He was looking back and forth, trying to see if anyone or anything had magically appeared once the bell finished ringing. The mansion was still dark, no sign of movement in the windows. _Of course_ nothing had changed because _ghosts and goblins and elves didn’t exist._ No ghost, no strange lights, no strange shadows. Nothing. The courtyard stayed empty, the shadows unmoving. The final toll of the bell faded at last, and the yard was silent once again.

He let out his breath and tension he hadn’t realized he’d been holding in eased away. He straightened up, putting his phone back into selfie mode. He checked his hair and fluffed some of the spikes that had gotten flattened while he’d sat against the pillar, then walked over to his chosen position on the lawn. He held up the phone and adjusted, making sure the moonlight lit his face in a way that was aesthetically pleasing. He grinned and his finger moved to the button to take the shot.

**_Thirteen_.**

The toll’s resonance hung in the air, an echo that bounced around the courtyard that seemed to have frozen in place. He could feel it bouncing around in his head, and his head felt _weird_ and tingly. He brought up a hand to prop himself up against one of the crumbling pillars, trying to hold off a wave of nausea and dizziness.

He shut his eyes and counted down from ten, feeling a little better after he’d managed to calm his heart a bit. In all the excitement and anticipation of the moment he must’ve miscounted the tolls of the bell, and hearing the _actual_ twelfth knell had startled him. He must’ve been more tense and scared then he’d even let himself believe. Hopefully he hadn’t made a stupid face in the photo.

The photo! Crap!

He brought up the phone to check and see if he’d actually gotten a shot, or if the unexpected toll had caused the image to blur. He could take another shot in a minute, of course, but he wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible. There was something _off_ about this place so late at night, and ghosts or no ghosts, he wanted to be out of here and home as quickly as possible.

It took a minute for the photo to load, and there is was.His face didn’t look _too_ bad-- a little blurry, maybe, because he’d just started to look up towards the distant clock tower, but his face was clearly visible and well lit. It probably would’ve actually been a pretty good picture, if it hadn’t been for the fact that there was something very, very wrong.

There was someone with him in the photo.

He stared at his screen as his mouth went dry. A figure in black, startling and distinct in the bright moonlight, standing in the background. There wasn’t anything particularly menacing or ghostly about the figure-- he’d always thought ghosts were supposed to wear white or whatever-- but there was no laughing this off as a trick of the light or some random prank by one of the guys. It was clearly a tall, slender person dressed in a hooded coat. And even though he couldn’t make out a face or expression, it was clear that the figure had been watching him.

“Hey there.”

Roxas was _definitely_ not alone.


	2. Chapter 2

Roxas stumbled back as he turned to face the voice and his foot caught on one of the broken stones. He fell, hard and undignified, but the pain didn’t register.

The figure was _there_ , right there, standing in front of him not ten feet away. This close, Roxas could see the features obscured by his camera’s limited field of view. It was a guy, maybe a couple of years older than him, and the frame was wiry and thin but he moved like shadows, gliding over the broken stones of the courtyard like they were nothing. He looked like a twig but something about the way he stood made it clear that there was power there, too. Power, and intent to use it.

Roxas swallowed hard.

Definitely not a ghost, but he didn’t move like any human Roxas had ever seen. Pence’s voice echoed in the back of his mind. _A Silent Watcher._ He still didn’t understand what that meant, but he had a feeling the guy had been watching him for a while now. Had this been some sort of trap after all?

“Wh-what?” His voice caught in his throat, and he had to cough and clear it before he could try again. “What do you want? Who are you? Where did you come from?”

The man circled him like a cat, stalking him in long, even strides. Roxas shifted in his prone position, watching the man move around him, wondering if he could text his friends for help without alerting the guy. He could run for it, of course, but it’d be tough getting over the wall or through the gate before the stranger caught up to him.

“Been a while since anyone fell through to this side,” the man said, casually ignoring Roxas’ questions. He came to a stop in front of Roxas, then dropped to squat in front of him, cloak flaring out behind him. Roxas yelped and scrambled back, but the guy didn’t make any further moves other than to sweep back his hood.

 _Not human,_ Roxas thought.

Green eyes so bright they shone in the darkness, with pupils narrowed into cat slits, despite the darkness. The wide grin showed off teeth longer and sharper than they had any business being. The color variation in the skin around his eyes that looked like it might be makeup or tattoos, except they give off a pale purple glow. His hair was a wild tangle of red spikes and plaits interwoven with bones and beads, and-- _were those horns?_

Roxas swallowed down an uncomfortable mix of emotions, and ground his fingers into the dirt around him, holding tight to the debris he collected. _Definitely not human._

“My orders are to take stragglers back with me,” said the guy, and Roxas scooted back as far as he could until his back hit the wall of the garden. He didn’t think he could take his eyes off this _creature_ , didn’t want to risk giving the guy an opening for attack. He still just watched Roxas, though, and he was clearly amused. “We can do this the easy way, you know, or--”

Roxas didn’t wait for him to finish. As the guy reached down to give him a hand up, he flung the grass, dirt, and stones he’d managed to gather, aiming for the guy’s eyes. Cheap shot, he thought, maybe even a little cliched, but it seemed to do the trick. He rolled under the guy’s arm and jumped at the garden wall, scrambling up and over the stones as the guy let out a slew of curses and rubbed at his face. He fought down the urge the check behind him, focusing on finding enough footholds in the cracked mortar to get him up and over the wall.

He almost made it, too.

Almost.

He was maneuvering between two of the spikes at the top when a strong grip wound around his ankle and pulled, hard. He kicked with his free foot but that got caught as well, so he wrapped his arms around the spikes and tried to pull himself through, or, failing that, at least hold on tight.

“Let me _go!_ ” he shouted, trying to kick with each word, turning at last to look back at his attacker. But the guy wasn’t having any of that. He glared up at Roxas, and there were little bits of twigs still stuck in his hair.

“I told you, we can --hrgg-- do this the easy way,” the guy said, pulling at Roxas’ feet and legs and absorbing the kicks with a grunt, “or we can -- fuck! -- do this the hard way.”  He pulled, hard, and Roxas’ grip gave out at last. He slid down the wall, managing to scrape the exposed skin of his stomach and tear his sweatshirt as he tried to scramble out of the guy’s grasp, but the creep held fast, locking his arms around him in a tight hold.

“I’m not going anywhere with you!” He tried to jump up and headbutt the guy in the chin, but the man leaned back, holding him firmly in place and slightly off the ground. He’d been right-- the guy was stronger than he looked. Roxas decided to squirm anyway, figuring it wouldn’t hurt to try escaping.

“Calm the fuck down, you’re gonna hurt yourself and I’m gonna be in the hound house for it,” the voice was rough and right next to his ear, and Roxas stilled, remembering the flash of those teeth.

“What do you _want?_ ” Roxas asked, proud that his voice didn’t break in the middle of that sentence.

It was midnight and he was standing in the deserted garden of a crumbling mansion being held against his will by some dude who looked like he’d dropped a serious chunk of change on some high-end prosthetics, but he had the strength and speed to dispel any belief that those things were just for show. In short, Roxas had been caught by some sort of demon because he was out on a stupid dare, and no one would ever find his bones. Hopefully the gang wouldn’t be foolish enough to attempt the dare again.

“Honestly? A whole lotta things but that’s neither here nor there and _you_ couldn’t get them for me anyway.” Roxas felt the sigh more than heard it, and while the guy didn’t release his hold, he did loosen it a little once Roxas had stopped struggling. “Let’s start with your name and I’ll let you go so we can talk face to face.”

Roxas forced himself to relax, too. Maybe the ghost (monster guy?) of the mansion could be reasoned with. He hadn’t killed him outright for trespassing so that was a good sign, right? And the more he stalled here, the more likely the gang would start trying to call him, trying to find out where his selfie was. They’d come look for him if he didn’t reply… right? Although that might get _them_ caught, too. He wasn’t sure if that was any better.

He took a deep breath, preparing for the worst. “It’s Roxas,” he said, and the reaction was instant. The guy dropped him and stepped back, giving him the space to turn around and glare.

“Roxas,” the man repeated, rolling it over his tongue and dragging out the syllables like he was tasting it. Roxas’ stomach lurched as another wave of adrenaline shot through him, making him slightly queasy and tingly again. He shivered at the sound and tried not to think about how alluring his name sounded in the guy's voice. “Hmm, well _Roxas_ , you’re gonna be good and come quietly.”

The guy turned, apparently content to leave it at that, and started walking across the courtyard, lifting up a hand. Roxas could see the shadows around him shift, almost as though there was some sort of inner glow that flickered as the shadowy coat swirled around him. Roxas felt queasy just looking at it, and shut his eyes, shaking his head to clear the fog.

“Yeah, no thanks, I’m not going anywhere with you,” Roxas flat out refused, which seemed to startle the guy. Who was this jerk, anyway? _What_ was he? It was kinda hard to look at him and not get distracted by the creepy getup, and it probably wasn’t polite to ask ‘what’s with the horns?’ so he settled for something safe. Small talk. Small talk with people who dressed like monsters, how had it come to this? “Who are you, anyway?”

The guy frowned. “Your name is Roxas,” he said, more of a statement than a question, although Roxas nodded. “....seriously?”

“Um, yeah. And it’d be easier to hold a conversation if I know who you are,” Roxas said, not really sure where the guy was going with this. Maybe he recognized the name from the Struggle posters? ...Did monster men keep up with local sports? That was a nightmare thought for another night, he could only handle so much trauma at once.

“Roxas, I want you to raise your right hand.” The guy ignored Roxas’ question and narrowed his eyes, although _what_ he was focusing on was unclear. Roxas felt it again-- that slight wave of nausea, a tingling in his right arm-- but he wasn’t going to give this asshole the satisfaction until he answered some questions. He gave him the finger instead.

That earned him a laugh. “You’re not doing it,” the guy said, sounding impressed. “I gave you a direct order and I have your name, but you’re not doing it. Aren’t you full of surprises?” The man tilted his head in thought, then grinned.

“Gonna be an interesting night, I can tell. You can call me Axel,” the guy-- Axel-- said at last. He leaned back against one of the crumbling pillars, giving Roxas plenty of space to lean against the wall for support, but not enough space to attempt running away again. “And as to your first question, like I said-- my orders are to take you to the boss. You’re trespassing, you know.”

“Look, I’ll just go,” Roxas said, flinching a little at the accusation. “It was a stupid dare, I’ll just leave and no harm done, right?”

“You think you can leave?” Axel asked, eyebrow raised. Roxas followed his pointed gaze to the gate... which apparently was no longer padlocked. He resisted the urge to groan-- if he’d known that Axel had opened the gate when he came in, he could’ve made a run for it, might’ve even made it through. Still, Axel’s complete lack of concern that the gate stood open gave him pause.

“The gate’s open, so…. Yeah?”

“Heh, sure thing, then, go for it. This I’ve gotta see, it _never_ gets old.” Axel pushed off from his pillar and sauntered over to the gate, leaning against the wall and gesturing Roxas towards the door. Roxas followed him at a cautious distance, then stopped a few feet in front of the gate. He looked at the door, then at Axel.

“What’s the catch? Did you electrify it or something?”

“That’s _way_ above my paygrade,” Axel said. “No catch-- you open the door and you can go on your merry mortal way, no strings attached.”

Roxas looked back at the gate, swallowing back the unease and sudden resurgence of nausea. The sooner he got out of here, the better. He was going to call everyone to let them know that there was definitely something weird and he was never going to try out a dare on his own again. He lifted a hand to press against the metal and pushed.

The result was hard to describe. He couldn’t feel the gate, but there was definite resistance of some sort, his hand going numb as it seemed to pass through the solid metal frame. He pulled back his hand and the feeling lessened, but he could see something shimmering over the metal, like a fine mist of glitter.

Axel cackled and Roxas glared, then turned to push against the gate again. This time he could _see_ his hand go through the gate, and the strange tingle extended up his arm to his shoulder. He pulled back again and rubbed at the limb to try to bring life back into it while he sucked in breath, hoping that he wasn’t going to throw up. He opted for bending over and putting his head between his knees.

“So, as much fun as it is seeing you try to break through the barrier--” Axel’s voice cut through the haze of queasiness, “-- I need to check in with the boss. Are you gonna come with me, or are we gonna have to go through the whole ‘hard way’ thing again?”

“What the _fuck_ just happened?” Roxas asked, clenching his hand into a fist. It was still sort of numb but he could move all his fingers. The gate didn’t seem affected at all.

“You’re on the dark side of the veil now, bud,” Axel replied, pushing off from the wall. “For better or worse, you’re stuck here until further notice. So, lemme ask again--”  

He clapped a hand on Roxas’ shoulder, grip firm, the message clear. He lifted the other hand and Roxas felt another wave of nausea-- _magic?_ \-- roll through him. One of the shadows in the courtyard expanded and _grew_ , rising up into what looked like a circle of darkness. Axel looked down at him, expression neutral.

“Easy? Or Difficult?” he asked again.

Roxas tried to suppress the tremble that he could feel building in the pit of his stomach. This had to be some sort of nightmare, maybe he’d hit his head while getting into the mansion and he was actually bleeding out in the courtyard, and this was all some weird sort of hallucination. Kind of sad when that seemed a more promising outcome than walking into a giant portal of darkness with a demon.

Axel’s hand tightened, and Roxas moved, knowing he didn’t really have a choice.

“Lead the way.”


	3. Chapter 3

Despite Axel calling this place “The Dark Side of the Veil” (and Roxas could hear the capitalization, it was just the way Axel said it) the area they ended up in was remarkably well lit. It was still night time, yes, but there was a strangeness to the place that made it seem like there was an unnatural brightness. Not quite a glow, but…  _ something. _

His head started to hurt when he thought about it. This place felt  _ off _ , for lack of a better word. The moon’s glow kept the path well lit, but there were still pockets of shadows as they walked, settled like dark pools in the middle of the road. Axel avoided these so Roxas did as well, but the parts of the place that weren’t stark shadow or bright moonlight shimmered somewhere in between, a pale luminescence emerging from each and every rock, tree, and bush. 

It almost looked like someone had gone to town with a glitter gun, actually, but when he brushed his fingers across a leaf, they came away clean. That probably had more to do with the fact that Roxas’ fingers slipped  _ through _ the leaf instead of against it, and he was hit with another wave of nausea, so he decided not to think about it too hard and refrained from touching anything else.

And despite the unnatural surroundings and Roxas’ increasing uneasiness, he couldn’t shake the feeling that it was all familiar in some way, too. Not that he’d been here before, but that it reminded him of…. something. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but even the casual magic Axel was casting (and there was nothing else to call it, because he had no idea how it worked) resonated within him, settling some of the fear and rising anxiety. He wasn’t happy, per se, but he also wasn’t terrified, which had to count for something. 

He looked over at Axel. He couldn’t complain about the company, at least. Axel hadn’t done much more than warn him about ruts in the road or tell him to keep up. He seemed more focused on doing his own thing-- tiny balls of light and fire danced around him as he walked, which Roxas supposed was the demon (faery?) equivalent of kicking a ball down the road as you walked. If anything, Axel seemed bored-- a little tense, maybe, if the backward glances meant anything, but all of Roxas’ attempts at small talk met with silence. 

Without anything to look at and Axel more or less ignoring him, Roxas did the next best thing: he pulled out his phone and took pictures. People weren’t going to believe him, and probably wouldn’t even if he got the pictures, but it’d give him  _ something _ to show the guys when he got back home.  _ If _ he got back home. Axel had said ‘until further notice,’ which he took to mean that there was still a chance at getting back home.

He was lining up a shot to take a picture of a particularly interesting looking tree when he realized that Axel still had his hood down, and from this angle his horns were prominently outlined in the bright white moonlight. If Roxas shifted his camera slightly, he’d be able to frame Axel in the shot and get a better image the show the gang back home-- again, not that they’d believe him, but a picture was worth a thousand words, right? The phone’s camera gave a soft click as he took the shot.

“I’d appreciate it if you erased that,” Axel said without turning around. “Not that it really makes much of a difference at this point, but some things aren’t meant to be captured on film.”

“You’re saying your face is too scary to show other people?” Roxas quipped, then bit his tongue, wondering why the hell he was being so reckless. Maybe his brain had decided that this was all one major hallucination and that sarcasm had no consequences, which, ok, he could see why it might come to that conclusion, but at the same time, he didn’t have a death wish even if he was only dreaming-- which was still up for debate.

Axel snorted, and did turn around, briefly. Roxas caught the hint of a smirk before he turned around again. 

“All my sides are my good sides,” he said, then sent a little spark back to dance around Roxas before jumping back into his hand. “I just don’t think your photo skills are up to capturing my awesomeness.”

“Awesomeness isn’t a word,” Roxas shot back. He sped up a little to fall into step with Axel, and looked up at him, studying his face. If you ignored the magic, took away the horns, wiped away the makeup, and did something to the hair, Axel looked and sounded more or less human. Roxas pondered that for a moment, then asked, “So how do you know about cameras and stuff if you’re on this ‘dark side of the veil’? What does that even mean? Is it like a border that you can cross? Do you have a lot of interactions with people who’re--” he caught himself before saying ‘human’, not wanting to be rude if Axel was or had been human at one point, “-- from Twilight Town?”

Axel’s eyes flickered down to him for a brief moment, and his mouth tightened before smoothing out into a bland smile. “You know, usually I just knock your kind out and drag them off to the hunt masters for judgement.” He sharpened his smile and gave Roxas a pointed look. “Don’t tempt me.”

“Is the veil a magic thing?” Roxas asked, unconcerned about the threat. If Axel had meant to hurt him he probably would’ve done it already-- if anything, he’d been careful not to let Roxas fall as they made their way further down the road. Roxas saw the slow blink of frustration, but trudged on ahead anyway. “Are we in some sort of alternate dimension thing? Is that why you’ve got horns, and why I’m like… a ghost?”

Axel stopped mid step, and for a moment Roxas was afraid that he really  _ was _ going to knock him out. But Axel was frowning, looking him over from head to toe. He crossed his arms when his face relaxed a little, as though he’d come to some sort of conclusion.

“What do you mean, like a ghost?” he asked. “Are you feeling light headed and floaty? I really don’t want to have to sweep you off your feet but I’ll do it if I have to.”

Roxas ignored that last commend and held up a hand. He was surprised to see that it was semi-transparent, and he could see Axel’s alarmed expression through his fingers. 

“My hand went through the gate,” he said, reminding Axel of his first brush with the barrier. “And when I tried touching a plant along the path my hand just sort of went through it. Is that… not a normal thing? What is the veil?”

“Fuck.” Axel didn’t bother replying, he just picked Roxas up around the middle and started hauling him off down the road at a more rapid pace. Roxas let out a yelp of indignation and squirmed in Axel’s hold, feeling the fear spike and his heart start to race again.  _ Good job, brain,  _ he thought as he was jostled up and down.  _ Now _ was a great time to panic.

*Put me down,” he said between jostles, but Axel ignored him, keeping the pace at a steady clip.

“I don't think so,” Axel replied. “We need to get to the boss sooner than later and you've been dragging your feet. I know I’ve got a great ass and everything but you’ve probably got plenty of pictures to help you keep it memorized.”

“I have not!” Roxas said, and tried squirming again, which only resulted in making Axel tighten his hold. “Your legs are like twice as long as mine, you’re like a tree! And you didn’t exactly move quickly, you know.” 

“Yeah, well, I’m not exactly looking forward to seeing the boss either, you know,” Axel said, which didn’t exactly instill confidence in Roxas, but Axel stopped him from squirming again. “But it sounds like we’ve gotta pick up the pace if we’re gonna make it in time.”

“In time for  _ what?  _ Would you  _ please _ tell me what the fuck is going on?” Roxas asked, not really expecting an answer, but Axel was apparently full of surprises. He didn’t stop his quick trot down the road, but he did deign to start answering some questions of his own accord.

“Wayward souls can get lost on this side of the veil,” Axel said. “It’s rare, and usually only happens because a certain set of conditions are met. You said you were doing some sort of dare?”

Roxas nodded, and Axel snorted a quick, derisive laugh. “Figures. Somehow you managed to meet all the conditions needed to cross over, and usually the reaction to crossing over is instantaneous. I mean, I guess you’ve had a reaction of some sort, but it’s not typical, so we’ve gotta get you to the boss.”

“Ok, so what was I  _ supposed _ to do when I got here?” Roxas asked. It was easier to focus on asking questions and thinking about things in a hypothetical manner than actually think about Axel’s reaction, because if he thought long and hard about it, he might be able to convince himself that Axel was acting a little panicky, like he was worried because Roxas  _ hadn’t _ reacted like a normal ‘lost soul’ and that there was a fast-encroaching deadline to get to the boss before ‘or else’ happened. 

“Don’t you people read anymore?” Axel scoffed. “No one appreciates a good fairy tale anymore I guess. Y’know, it’s because people stop reading that things that they take on stupid dares that lead them into trouble.”

“Axel…” Roxas complained. This earned him a weary sigh, but at least he got an explanation, too.

“Fine. Have you ever heard of the Wild Hunt?”

“...I think there’s a video game about it?” Roxas offered, the shrugged as much as he could in his awkward tuck position. “It’s got something to do with elves and fairies and creatures running around through the sky to hunt whatever they find.”

“That’s kinda the gist of it, sure, but you’re missing a couple of key points,” Axel said, then paused to take a running leap over a gap that Roxas wouldn’t have been able to make on a good day, let alone carrying another person. Axel landed without a hitch, though, and easily fell back into his loping jog. Roxas tried to force himself to relax a little, but the casual flaunt of speed and power simply reinforced the whole ‘if you try to make a run for it he’ll make you regret it’ feeling.

“So If you’d had any culture you’d know that the Wild Hunt is kinda a big thing for the Fae courts,” Axel said, picking up on his trail of thought. “We go hunting, but it’s not just anything that comes across our path. There aren’t animals on this side like there are over in your town.”

Roxas swallowed hard, and his thoughts going back to those teeth. He had a bad feeling he knew where Axel was going with this.

“You…. hunt down people? And  _ eat _ them?” he asked, and his voice cracked a little, probably because his throat was so dry. Did that mean Axel had meant to kill him as soon as he fell through, and only stopped because Roxas had been a ‘special case’ or whatever.

“They’re not people when they get to this side, that’s what I’m trying to get at,” Axel sighed. “Most people turn into mindless beasts like deer and dogs and boars and shit, sometimes right away, sometimes not til they’ve been around for a while, eaten food and stuff. People who don’t change right away are brought to the huntmaster for judgement. Sometimes they start to show off latent talents that they never knew they had, or talents they didn’t have until they came to this side of the veil, and they’re more or less recruited by the courts.”

“So… becoming a ghost is a latent talent?” Roxas asked, trying to shift a little to get more comfortable in the awkward position.

“No,” Axel gritted out, and didn’t expand on that any further. Roxas opened his mouth to complain that it wasn’t fair to keep him in the dark, but Axel stopped mid-stride, and set him down on the road abruptly. “Stay here.”

Flames shot up Axel’s arms and collected into spiked discs in his hands, and Roxas yelped and tried to scramble away from the sudden burst of heat. Axel ignored him, staring further down the path, then made a gesture with one hand, sending a ball of fire in Roxas’ direction.

Roxas cried out again and scooted back even further, but the fire slowed and shifted, circling him once as it turned into what could only be described as a giant, inordinately fat black cat with a glowing patch of white fur on its chest. It finished its circle around Roxas before climbing into his lap and settling down with a low, throaty purr. He was torn between the alarmingly heavy dead weight in his lap and Axel’s intense focus on the road ahead, but now that he wasn’t being carted around like a sack of potatoes, he could hear it, faintly. Hounds baying somewhere ahead of them, their mournful cries echoing off the trees. He shivered.  _ Had those been people once? _

“Axel?” he started to ask, but Axel was gone-- there one minute, running towards the sounds the next. “Axel! Come back!” 

Axel disappeared, Roxas was left alone with the demon cat thing, and in the distance there was another low, mournful howl.  


	4. Chapter 4

This couldn’t be happening.

Roxas sat, stunned and waiting for Axel to reappear. Axel was his best shot home, after all-- he knew the way back to the mansion, and probably knew how Roxas could get back through the barrier if he could be persuaded to help.

The cat thing in his lap yowled an unhappy cat-like noise, then stretched out further in his lap, preventing him from pushing it off and standing up. He  _ needed _ to find Axel again. He didn’t want to be stuck in the middle of the road and out where anything could see him when there were beasts out there.

_ Not beasts. Humans. Humans turned into beasts. _

His stomach roiled again and he shifted in place again, earning another angry yowl from the cat. He looked down into its baleful golden eyes and sighed, running fingers through the silken fur.

“So what the hell am I supposed to do?” he asked it, which apparently was too much for the cat to take. It jumped out of his lap and stretched out in front of him along the path, although it kept a watchful eye on him. He sighed and stood, stretching out tender muscles and trying to stretch out the kinks in his back from getting jostled during Axel’s impromptu jog. 

The cat watched him through slitted eyes, its thick tail whapping angrily against the ground. With each beat of its tail, sparks shot up from where it contacted the ground, leaving a ring of singed earth in its wake. Roxas stuck out his tongue at it, then looked down the road again, wondering what he should do next. Axel had told him to stay there, but stay there to do  _ what? _ Wait patiently, probably-- maybe he’d left the cat for entertainment purposes while he went on ahead to do… whatever it was demons do. 

Except he was thinking maybe Axel wasn’t  _ demon _ and more elf or hobgoblin or… something. He didn’t actually read fairytale stuff so his knowledge into the supernatural sort of failed outside whatever tropes video games used-- Axel had been correct in that assumption, at least. But Axel had also mentioned Fae, which was something to think on. He was pretty sure the game he’d played involved elves, so…. He mentally recategorized Axel as some sort of weird elf/goblin hybrid, then looked down at his catty companion again.

“So if Axel is fae, what does that make  _ you? _ ” he asked, but the cat’s ear just twitched in annoyance. Once, twice-- it rolled to its feet with remarkable speed, the downy fur standing up on end to make the creature look even fatter than it already was. It began to growl, a high pitched and whining keen that made Roxas take an anxious step back. He  _ really _ wished Axel would get back.

The cat creature wasn’t looking at him, though. Its attention was focused in the direction that Axel had gone, and Roxas squinted ahead. Despite the bright moonlight he couldn’t actually see anything suspicious or alarming, just more of the glittery landscape and pools of shadow. To the left and right of the path there were remains of what looked like it might’ve been a wall or even a gatehouse at some point, but it was mostly overgrown and rubble. He looked down at the cat again, which stood at attention, fur on end.

Then he heard it again: the faint baying of what sounded like a pack of dogs, possibly some sort of hound, although the sounds were deep and resonant. The noise was coming from up ahead, but the way it bounced around the deserted area made it difficult to pinpoint which direction, exactly, it was coming from. Roxas looked around for something to hold onto, some sort of defensive weapon, just in case whatever it was got past Axel and towards him. 

He ran over to one of the sections of wall that looked like it was in better shape than the others, something he could tuck against if he needed a defensive position. There were enough chunks of stone littered around on the ground that he could pick them up and chuck them at anything that came near (including Axel, as punishment for abandoning him), but he wanted something he could keep close at hand, just in case those dogs got too close.

The cat had followed him over to the wall and lay precariously balanced on top of it, looking down at something in the underbrush, tail whipping back and forth. He followed its gaze and saw something metallic glinting in the moonlight-- some sort of large rod, wrapped with chains. Maybe a door mechanism, something built into the wall? He scrambled over the rocks to grab at it, and tried to pick it up.

It was stuck. Maybe one of the chains had tangled in the roots of one of the trees, or one of the rocks had toppled onto the links, holding it in place. He didn’t care about the chain, he just wanted the iron rod, so he wrapped both hands around it, braced his feet against the rock and pulled, hard. There was a grinding sound of metal against stone, a crack of something breaking, and then he fell back with the rod sliding out of the crevice.

The cat hissed, whining again as he help up his newfound weapon, which looked like….a pole with a gear and chains welded to it. Definitely some sort of machinery piece, he thought, although it was nothing like he’d ever seen. It almost looked like there was jewel inset close to the gears, which  _ really _ didn’t make sense, unless it was something magical, maybe? 

He frowned, heading back to the path to get it in the brighter moonlight so he could get a better look. However, as soon as the light hit the blade a tremor resonated up the length of the stick and into his arm, almost like he’d been shocked by a bolt of electricity. Whatever it was, it’d travelled down to the gear and inset jewel, too, and the gem blazed with blue light. A black sliver appeared down the center of the jewel, almost like a cat’s eye, and it  _ moved _ until it was looking up at Roxas.

He dropped it immediately.

Instead of clattering to the ground, however, the shaft sank into one of the pools of darkness in the road, the ones that Axel had been so careful to avoid while they’d walked. He stared into the puddle for a moment, then looked back at the cat, which trembled from its perch and was clearly not going to be any help whatsoever.

Roxas sighed, shaking out the lingering tingle in his hand. “Ok, so  _ that _ wasn’t freaky at all…” he said to lighten to mood, although he wasn’t sure if he was talking to the cat or just trying to keep himself calm. Honestly, it sort of amounted to the same thing at this point. The cat gave a plaintive yowl in reply, but didn’t look like it was going to move anytime soon. He took a deep breath, two, trying to will his heartbeat back to a normal pace. “Ok, plan B, what else can I use that isn’t possible sentient and evil and fucking demonic...”

Scanning the side of the path, he saw a large stick propped up against one of the wider trees,  a branch or maybe even a small sapling, cut down and left to rot. He darted towards it and reached, unthinking, and his hand swept through. He cursed as he heard another hound crying in the distance-- with the weirdness of the disappearing eyeball stick he’d forgotten about the humans-turned-dogs who might or might not be coming to kill him. He closed his eyes and tried again, deliberately focusing on it to see if that made any difference. 

When he reached out, he was relieved to feel it this time, solid and cool beneath his hand. He hefted it up and held it out, waiting. It wasn’t a Struggle bat but it was heavy enough to do some damage if push came to shove. He gripped it, tense, and he swore he could hear and feel the wood cracking under his fingers.

“What’re you doing?” 

Axel’s voice was so unexpected and close that Roxas jumped into a defensive Struggle move and brought the stick down before he thought things through. Axel’s quick reflexes saved him from a bruised cheekbone when he caught it mid-swing, however, and he just looked at Roxas, curious.

“Why the hell did you leave?” Roxas shouted when it was clear that Axel was completely unaffected by getting attacked. “It sounds like there’s a pack of wild dogs around and you just  _ dumped _ me here? What the hell?”

“You were gonna protect yourself from a pack of angry dogs with  _ that? _ ” Axel asked, then snorted. “Roxas, that’s a stick.”

“I had to improvise!” Roxas threw the offending stick on the ground and looked closer at Axel, forcing his heart rate to slow. “Where’d you go, anyway? What’s the point of kidnapping me if you just dump me in the middle of the road?”

“Ok, first of all, I didn’t kidnap you, I  _ secured a trespasser _ , so you have, like, zero moral ground to stand on here.” He came back over to Roxas and gripped his shoulder, nudging him back along the path. “Second, we’re getting close to court and I wanted to make sure nothing would eat you before we got there. The court hounds are hungry before a hunt, and you’re a pretty tasty looking morsel.”

He grinned, but Roxas flinched that phrasing. On face value, he could interpret those words as a not-so-subtle reminder of his current standing and the potential danger he was in (as if he could forget it.) But given Axel’s treatment of him earlier -- apart from kidnapping him, no matter what he’d said-- Roxas didn’t think Axel was trying to threaten him. If anything, it came off as  _ flirty _ , and if it had been any other situation and in any other place, he might have even be tempted to give as good as he got. 

But as it was, he was in a strange glitter-dusted place where people were turned into animals and his suave guide through this neverland was a horny scarecrow who definitely lifted and quite possibly  _ ate _ aforementioned people-turned-beasts. There was also the fact that he was starting to go invisible, so there was that. What it all came down to was if Axel was making a joke or trying to flirt with him through all of this, he was not in the mood.

He batted away the hand on his shoulder and pushed Axel away, stepping back to glare, his hands clenching into fists. “What the  _ fuck _ man, how can you even joke about something like that?”

“I have a macabre sense of humor and a fatalistic to blasé bedside manner when it comes to death and dying,” Axel supplied, then put his hands on his hips, looking around. “Anyway, where’s my cat?”

The angry fluffball in question came bounding out of the woods, little sparks of fire erupting when it hit the ground, then it launched into Axel’s outstretched arms. It circled his shoulders once with a surprising amount of grace for all its bulk, butted its head up against his cheek, then vanished in a poof of smoke, tiny flickers of fire dissolving in its wake. Axel grinned, then held out his arms to Roxas, much as he had for the cat.

“Ready to go?”

Roxas crossed his arms and took another deliberate step backwards. “Would it make a difference if I said no?”

Axel paused, then lowered his arms, the smirk sliding off his face. “Look, I know you really don’t have any reason to trust me or believe me when I say that I’m not gonna do anything to hurt you, but I’m not an asshole, I wouldn’t  _ force _ you to do anything you’re uncomfortable with or that would knowingly cause you harm. This is an escort job, nothing more. You’re cooperating, which means it’s easier for both of us. I’d like to continue having as little drama as possible.”

“Then take me  _ home _ ,” Roxas said, more tired than anything else. Axel gave him a shadow of his former smile, but there was no flirty overtones in it this time, not really.

“Very forward of you, inviting yourself over to my haunting grounds. Do you think I take just any lost soul home with me?”

“Axel--”

“Look, I get it,” Axel interrupted, crossing his arms and looking down and away. “More than you know, I really get it. But orders are orders, and I don’t wanna get turned into a duskhund, so you’ve either gotta come with me quietly, or I’m gonna have to use aggression.”

”And if I ran?”

“My hounds would tear you apart,” came the answer, but it was a cool, unemotional voice that set Roxas’ teeth on edge. Without thinking he stepped closer to Axel, letting the redhead shield him from the intruder who’d snuck up on them.

The man was taller than Roxas and shorter than Axel, but his presence-- now that Roxas realized he was there-- and the cold malice that rolled off him made him feel bigger. He practically shimmered in the moonlight, the icy blue fur that trimmed his cloak shining around him like a halo. Underneath it looked like he wore the same black leather robes as Axel, or something similar, although he had a strap that circled his chest to hold the massive weapon against his back. 

Then the fur of the man’s cloak shifted, and an enormous dog-like creature padded to his side, the shackles around its front paws clinking lightly as it sat down beside him. It stared at him with wide, yellow eyes and panted openly, showing off blackened teeth that were longer than Roxas’s hand. He’d never seen anything like it, but he knew without a doubt that this must be the duskhund thing Axel had mentioned, and one of the beasts that had made all those terrible noises.

_ Not a beast, a human turned  _ **_into_ ** _ a beast. _

“Saix,” Axel said, voice tense. “It’s not what you think-- I was coming back.”

Roxas didn’t like the sound of that.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you interested, Saix's beasts are based on the werewolves from KHUX: https://www.khwiki.com/Werewolf_(Heartless)

Roxas looked between the newcomer and Axel with rising panic. He knew Axel was strong-- after all, he’d carried Roxas more than halfway the whole time, but something about this new guy-- _Saix_ \-- felt like he was the one who was going to call the shots. It also didn’t help that Axel’s summoned creature was an obese cat while Saix had a massive dog monster thing that probably ate children for breakfast.

Axel’s whole demeanor had changed, too; there was no sign of the cocky, confident asshole who’d half-flirted with him as he dragged Roxas off to god-knew where. This Axel was tense and sullen, and Roxas could see sparks of fire flitting between his fingers. Axel was poised to attack but holding back, and sounding more like a sulky teenager than even Seifer managed after losing ten times in a row. Whoever this Saix guy was, Axel was concerned.

Saix crossed his arms and looked down his nose at Axel, the movement causing the sword strapped to his back to catch the moonlight. The shift in position also made it clear that there were  _other_ weapons under his cloak, too, weapons Roxas sincerely hoped he wouldn't see on the business end of things. The hound also shifted where it sat beside its master, massive head nearly coming up to Saix’s shoulder, but it stayed alert. While Saix was clearly ignoring Roxas’ presence for the time being, the beast was not. It watched him with pale yellow eyes and licked its chops.

“You’re late, Axel,” replied Saix, voice as detached as before. “The superior will not be pleased.”

Axel made a big show of letting go of that tension and shrugging off Saix’s concerns, falling into the familiar lackadaisical poise he’d had when Roxas had first met him. He gestured to Roxas, one hand on his hip.

“Look, I always planned to come back, I just didn't wanna come back empty-handed is all. I had to expand my territory a little, go a little beyond my usual checkpoints. And look! I’ve got a lost soul, been bringing him back to see the boss,” Axel looped a possessive arm around Roxas, hugging him close. “He’s a special case, and I thought the boss’d be pissed if I delivered damaged goods so we’ve been traveling at a little slower pace.”

Saix’s eyes flickered over Roxas and his expression dropped from cool to glacial. Roxas flinched under that stare, but the supernatural warmth radiating off of Axel was a welcome reassurance, even if it did seem like they were both about to get eaten by an oversized demon dog. Saix’s eyes narrowed even further as Roxas shrank against Axel, then his impassive face was back in place, and he went back to focusing on Axel alone.

“You cannot afford to keep angering him, Axel. Merciful as Lord Xemnas is, even he has limits to his patience.” He softened his expression the barest bit for a moment, then added softly, “I would not have you added to the kennels, old friend.”

“You worry too much. He’s gonna be interested in this one, trust me. I mean, _look_ at him,” Axel said, and affectionately rubbed the top of Roxas’ head, doing a number on his hair. “It won’t come to that, I promise.”

“I hope so, for your sake.” Saix turned and headed down the road in the direction they’d been traveling. “Come. I’m to escort you to the tent; Lord Xemnas is making final preparations for his departure.”

Saix didn’t bother to stop and see if they would follow, he was clearly used to be obeyed. The massive beast got to its feet but waited, its eyes never leaving Roxas. For his part, Roxas made sure Axel was between himself and the beast at all times as they headed towards the camp, and while Axel made an irritated noise at Saix's snub, he just nudged Roxas ahead without a word.

He noticed a shift in the air almost immediately-- for one thing, the air was getting warmer, and he could hear different noises, what sounded like people talking and metal on metal, wood against wood--- basically, it sounded like people going about their daily lives, except it was probably close to 2 in the morning at this point, not that time seemed to pass at all. Sure enough, as they rounded another bend in the road and crested a small hill, a large encampment came into view. It reminded him of a scene from one of those fantasy movies Olette had dragged all of them to, the one with the giant lion, specifically towards the end when the good guys were getting ready to fight the bad guys and they were all training and gearing up for the big battle. This place had scene-appropriate torches and bonfires and lanterns around the tents, all of which seemed to be set up in short rows to either side of the path.

As they walked through the camp, Roxas caught glimpses of people dressed in dark leathers in similar cuts and styles to Axel’s and Saix’s, although each person’s clothes seemed to be altered with some personal touches. The magic billowed in swells around the camp as they passed those dark-clad people who seemed to be of rank-- maybe officers or something, as opposed to the white-robed servants who skulked between tents to hurry about their tasks. A few seemed to be practicing spells of some sort, others simply waited outside of their tents, sharpening weapons or pouring tinctures or simply sitting, waiting. Roxas could feel a headache forming at the back of his teeth, and his stomach rolled as one of the officers sent six staves towards a dummy, guided by magic and launched on a cold blast of wind. Roxas bit down another wave of nausea and stumbled a little, although Axel was there to help him stay upright. That, at least, was grounding.

He could also smell whatever final meal the camp had eaten as they prepared for their hunt, some sort of roasted meats and breads. _Don’t think about what they were, don’t think about what these people did, just focus, keep walking, figure out what you have to do to get out of this alive._ To his horror, his stomach gurgled at the smell tangy spices-- if he was home and still awake, he might be sneaking down to the kitchen to grab a snack, creeping around so he wouldn’t wake anyone else in the house. But despite knowing _what_ he was smelling, what it had been, he still felt hungry, even if the thought of the foods also made him queasy.

“Hungry, huh?” Axel asked. Apparently his stomach had been louder than he’d realized. Axel gave him a tight smile and nudged him forward, away from the cooking fires. “Trust me, you don’t wanna eat any of that. I’d offer you something, but you know what they say about fairy food.”

Roxas did not, in fact, know what they said about fairy food, but he was pretty sure that if even if he was offered something to eat, if he ate anything he would barf it up pretty quickly. He really didn’t want to give Saix any reason to sic the giant wolfdog monster thing on him.  

 _Duskhunds_ , he supposed, remembering the word Axel had used earlier. There seemed to be more of them milling around the camp, posted as sentries around the perimeter. Their heads shot up and their gazes focused on Saix as he walked past, but Roxas could feel their interest and their attention on him, too. He stepped closer to Axel and wished he had the fat cat thing to distract him.

They ended up outside of a large tent set apart from the rest, canvas dyed a black so dark that it seemed to soak in the light from the camp surrounding it. Standard flags of white and black stood to either side of the entrance, intricate geometric patterns that seemed both chaotic but balanced. To either side of these was another dak-clad figure; guards, Roxas supposed, on watch and waiting for their leader’s commands.

Sitting on a stump a few feet away was a guy with a guitar, strumming a few odd snatches of songs, clearly just trying to pass time while he waited for… something. It made sense, at least to Roxas. What could a bard do on a hunt, anyway? He probably just had to play music or something to entertain the rest of the camp while they got ready. The musician raised his eyes briefly to watch them approach, eyes widening at the sight of Roxas, then he quickly dropped his eyes and focused on his song again.

The guards, however, remained alert and intent as they approached. The man with pale golden hair and multiple piercings crossed his arms and snorted.

“So, you didn’t decide to try your luck after all,” he said, voice accented and sarcastic. “Pity. Some of the others didn’t think you’d last the night, but you’ve surprised us enough that I thought you’d have favorable odds. We were going to draw up a wager, you know, guessing which of us would return with your head.”

“You won’t be getting head from me,” quipped Axel, and Roxas choked on a laugh despite himself, trying to suppress as much noise as possible. It caught the guard’s attention, though, and his eyebrows rose in surprise as he took in Roxas.

“What a strange little rabbit you’ve caught,” the man said, then tilted his head and narrowed his eyes as he considered Roxas. “It seems to be wearing a rather familiar face, doesn’t it?”

A falsetto cackle sounded behind them, and Roxas turned to see a slender woman sauntering towards them. Her leather coat was trimmed in what looked like glowing yellow lace, but it seemed to move on its own accord, and as she approached Roxas realized with a start that what he’d taken as tatted fibers were actually currents of electricity. Even the woman’s hair seemed charged with power-- Roxas felt ill just standing close to her.

Fortunately, all of her attention was on Axel, coming to a halt in front of him. “We probably wouldn’t have killed you right away,” she said, fingers walking up Axel’s chest as he glared at her. She let her fingers linger on his lips, tapping them with a quick spark that made him flinch despite his otherwise stony expression. “I would’ve played with you for a long while,” she promised. Axel pushed her hand away and she laughed again, moving around him to look down at Roxas. She caught his chin in her hands and tilted his head up to look at her, turning his face to the side and back to get a good look.

“It seems like you’ve found some entertainment while you were away, anyway. Is this what kept you from reporting in on time?” she asked, then laughed as Roxas stepped away from her and back behind Axel. She gave a long, dramatic sigh. “Well, I suppose they only last so long anyway, so you have to have your fun before there’s nothing left. Right Demyx?”

The guitarist looked up and winced, fingers faltering over the chords. “Why’re you bringing _me_ into this?” he whined. “I don’t have anything to do with anyone.”

“You are pretty useless,” Axel replied, and he shifted so that he was completely blocking the woman’s view of Roxas, shielding him from any further taunts. “And no, thought boss would wanna see this one personally, given the circumstances. We just got a little waylaid on the way back.”

“You push your luck too far,” Saix said, the first he’d spoken since they’d entered the camp.The duskhund padded over to him and butted his hand until he patted it absently, but his attention was fully on Axel again. “The superior has no time for your games.”

“I’m doing my damn _job_ ,” Axel snapped, and he reached over to grab Roxas’ shoulder. Not hard, but Roxas knew he wouldn’t be getting out of that hold any time soon. “Don’t you have dogs to prepare? And Larxene, shouldn’t you be, like, standing in the middle of a field with a lightning rod or something?”

“That is enough, my friends,” came a low, soothing voice from inside the tent.

The group stiffened into attention as a man slipped through the tent’s flap, passing the two guards who saluted and straightened with their hands behind their backs in military rest. Demyx stopped playing, and Saix removed his hand from the hound to nod in a shallow bow. Larxene stepped away from Axel and Roxas to bow as well, the electricity along her clothes diminishing to a soft yellow. Only Axel remained where he was, although he dropped to his knees to kneel. Roxas took his cues from him, wondering if his night was about to go from bad to worse.

The man smiled. “Save those spirits for the hunt, we have quite a ride ahead of us.”

The man was tall, taller than Axel, and he moved with a liquid grace. He looked deceptively human, despite the pale silver hair and golden eyes. It was the pointed ears that suggested he was a more than just a mundane mortal creature-- surely _he_ was an elf of some sort. The man was too pretty to be human. He dressed in a black leather coat similar to Axel’s, except the shadowy materials was shot through with threads of silver, which glinted in the moonlight. He wore no visible armor, but Roxas didn’t doubt for a minute that this man was untouchable. He exuded power-- Roxas could feel it, twisting in his treacherous stomach that threatened to heave at any moment.

“See how our beloved moon shines bright for us-- even the stars sing in expectation of our glorious purpose. Truly, we are blessed with auspicious signs of a fruitful hunt.”

The man looked up into the sky and smiled, taking in the moonlight and basking in it for a moment before he spoke again. Roxas thought he was being a little over-dramatic, and he was sure that the others thought so, too, but no one dared to hurry their leader along or say anything to interrupt his monologue. He shifted, and the light of the moon caught him in such a way that his entire form seemed to glow in an ethereal light, despite the black leathers of his clothes. Roxas had to admit-- despite the melodramatic pose, the man was stunning.

“Our lands will be purged of these mortal infestations, and their blood will flow through the fields in rivers. The Seelie fools will see how _we_ maintain order and prosper.”

Roxas shivered. He was pretty, yes, but he was also terrifying.

He seemed to have come to the end of his speech, although no one seemed willing to move and break the tension that hung in the air. Then, to his horror, Roxas felt Axel move beside him.

“I’ve come with something I thought you might find interesting, _Sir_ ,” Axel said, putting emphasis on the honorific and dipping his head even lower. Roxas wondered if he should be bowing as well, but then the man turned pale golden eyes on him, and he was rooted to the spot, unable to move.

A silvery eyebrow crept up ever so slightly, and the mouth twitched as though it resisted the urge to smile. He stared at Roxas long enough to make it uncomfortable, then that terrible gaze was off him and back on Axel. Roxas sucked in a lungful of air, grateful for the reprieve.

“Axel,” the man purred, but Roxas could see that the man’s gentle tones only heightened Axel’s tense and cautious posture. “You’ve been away for some time. Your presence was missed at our last fete; it was practically stagnant without you.”

“My apologies, Lord Xemnas,” Axel murmured, head still bowed. “I did not want to return with no news or empty-handed.”

Xemnas moved to put a light hand on Axel’s head, almost as if he was offering an absolution. “I am glad to have you back where you belong, you always were a wild spirit,” he said, then slid his fingers down to tilt Axel’s head back so he could look at him. The man’s thumb ran over Axel’s lips, lingering there to keep Axel silent. For once, it looked like Axel was going to hold his tongue.

“Although perhaps it is my own fault, letting you wander as you wish. A tighter leash moving forward, I think,” the man said, and his fingers stroked the bottom of Axel’s chin before he stepped away. Axel swallowed a flinch but did not argue the point. Xemnas made a satisfied sound, then turned his back on them both. “We’ll discuss a suitable correction when I return. You will return to your post for now, but you may expect my summons upon conclusion of the hunt’s festivities.”

Axel’s head snapped back, and even Roxas could hear that as more of a threat than the simple order to return when summoned. He forced himself to stand still, though-- even a slight shiver might bring those terrible golden eyes back to him, and he was getting the impression that no one wanted Xemnas’ attention focused on them.

“Understood,” Axel gritted out. He looked at Roxas, closed his eyes briefly as what might’ve been regret flickered across his face, then he turned back to his superior. “Shall I leave him with your guards?”

The man’s cool facade cracked, just a little, and he let out an exasperated sigh. “You return to Court on the night of the Hunt after an extended --and unapproved-- leave of absence, and you think a presenting me with a poppet like this will soften my ire? I have greater things to consider tonight than to waste time with your small curiosity. Return to your post and await my summons. And take the thing with you.”

Xemnas snapped his fingers and one of the white clad servants scuttled into the clearing, leading a massive black horse that bore the same black and white patterns of the flag standards. This close, he could see the servant had no face, just a pale white smoothness where its features should have been. And the creature was massive, well over 8 feet at the shoulder, and it had glowing yellow eyes that reminded Roxas of the duskhunds. He doubted that this creature had ever been human-- it was clearly a monster born of nightmares.

Axel straightened up, panicked, and pulled Roxas along with him as the man turned to leave, clearly dismissing them.

“Sir, I know what he is, but look at his face! You know what this means,” Axel pressed. “If Ven is--”

Xemnas scoffed and ignored him, alighting into the saddle. He drew up the reigns and turned his displeasure back on Roxas before blinking and giving an elegant shrug.

“The Seelie Court have no claim in my lands, no matter what constructs they create, nor false faces they give their dolls," he replied, and his tone was absolute. "Dispose of the puppet, return to your position the rift, and pray that your dalliance has not given your true charge a chance to create mischief.”

“Sir, I--” Axel broke off at the look Xemnas gave him, then sighed, bowing again. “Of course, Lord Xemnas. I’ll take care of it. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to redeem myself.”

Axel turned without another word and walked out of camp, apparently dismissed. Roxas stared after him, then up at Xemnas and the rest of the group, but the master had decided to ignore him completely. The hounds that still sat tethered to the stakes watched him, however, and he quickly turned to run after Axel’s retreating form, vowing to stay close and try to find out why that sounded like it had gone terribly, terribly wrong.


	6. Chapter 6

“Watch out!”

In the sounds of Xemnas’ snorting steed and the other officers rushing off to get their own mounts, Roxas almost missed the cry. It took him a moment to realize the voice was directed at him, and another to realize that it was a warning. He realized just in time to throw himself to the side of the path, narrowly missing the crushing hooves of the Hunt Master’s horse as it charged through the camp with a shrill shriek that would never be mistaken for a whinny.

Other, similar noises rose up from around the camp as the others fell in line behind Xemnas, their mounts tearing up the earth as they thundered out of the camp with war whoops and the heavy clank of weaponry. As if the sound wasn’t enough, then the hounds took up the cry, baying and howling as they were unfettered. They all but flew from their harnesses, snapping and snarling as they charged into the night, and the Lord of the Hunt fell in behind them, his dark entourage trailing behind like shadows.

It happened so suddenly and with such tremendous noise that Roxas stayed huddled against one of the tents for several terrifying moments after the last baying hound’s call faded. When he finally mustered the courage to sit up, he was trembling so violently that it took him two tries to stand, and another minute to realize that he wasn’t alone.

The bard hadn’t gotten up when the others took off after their master. Instead, he remained on his stump, tuning his instrument and playing a few wavering notes before tweaking the pegs again. He gave Roxas a half-hearted smile when he saw he’d heard the warning in time.

“Now’s your chance to run away,” he said, then tested a few strings, frowned at the discordant sound, then tuned again until he was happy with the note. He plucked out a soft, mournful song, a bittersweet melody that made Roxas pause, despite his terror.

“Thanks for the warning,” he managed, and the musician--Demyx?-- shrugged, doing something with the strings so he could play two parts of the song at once, compounding the plaintive melody.

“You’d better hurry,” Demyx said, then looked up, giving Roxas a sad smile. He nodded off to his left, away from the direction the hunting party had gone. “Axel went that way; if you run you can catch him.”

“Why’re you helping me?” Roxas asked, torn between wanting to flee and wanting to know why this guy was being so nice when everyone else had acted like he was dirt. All he got was another shrug.

“If Axel refuses to help, tell him he owes me one,” Demyx said, not answering at all. “Tell him…” he trailed off, eyes going distant and fingers stilling on the guitar’s neck. Then he blinked and the sad expression was back. “Tell him Demyx hasn’t forgotten about the ocean.”

Roxas waited for him to say more, but Demyx had said his peace and went back to brooding over his song. A chill breeze swept through the camp, sending goosebumps up his arms. Roxas looked in the direction the hunt had gone, then down the path Demyx had indicated.

“Thanks,” he said again, not really sure what else to say, then took off at a jog to catch up with Axel.

It was pure luck that finally let Roxas catch up to him. The man seemed to be lost in his own thoughts, shuffling down the road at a desultory pace, his fat cat thing back and winding between his legs. It noticed Roxas first, making that odd chirping noise before wobbling over for attention. Roxas picked it up and it went boneless, oozing to fill in the space of his arms. Roxas pressed his face into the dense fur warm, taking comfort in the feel of its intense heat against his chilled arms. Axel finally noticed him and just sighed.

“So…. what happens now?” Roxas asked when it was clear that Axel wasn’t going to speak up. Axel made an irritated noise and shook his head, although whether he was upset with Roxas or himself was anyone’s guess. The fat cat made a chirping noise in response, looking up at Axel with just as much expectation.

“Traitor,” Axel muttered, but Roxas was pretty sure he meant the cat. He hugged the beast closer, feeling its purr intensify. Axel made another disgusted noise and started walking again, this time at a more normal pace.

He had to pick up his pace to match Axel’s stride, but Axel made no objections to him tagging along. He looked paler than before, paler and worried, and while he finally slowed down a bit to let Roxas fall into a more comfortable speed, he didn’t offer up any further information. Granted, there was a lot to process in everything that just happened and Roxas wasn’t even sure he _wanted_ to know the full implications of what Xemnas had said, but surely Axel could tell him _something_.

“What was all that about, back at the camp? Axel? What’s going on?”

Axel sighed, closed his eyes, then ran fingers through his hair, unsnarling one of the plaits that had wrapped around a horn during their run to the hunting camp. Despite the gesture he actually looked more human, now-- maybe it was the lingering insecurity in his posture. Roxas didn’t like his odds of surviving the night if _Axel_ wasn’t feeling confident about the situation.

Axel sighed. “I’ll take you back to the mansion and leave you there,” he said without turning to look at Roxas. Roxas slowed, frowning, until he realized that Axel wasn’t going to wait for him. He trotted back up beside him and tried to read the face that had been so cheerful and expressive before, but now fell flat.

“That’s it? After everything you told me earlier, you’re just gonna leave me there, stuck on this side of the barrier? What about my hands?” Roxas asked, holding them up, although the cat thing complained at the jostle in its position.

He’d been trying to avoid looking at them; between the constant queasiness in his stomach and the fear that he would get eaten by one of the massive hounds around camp, turning invisible and intangible wasn’t really one of those things he wanted to worry about. On the one hand (ha), it might make it impossible for the hounds to hurt him, but on the other hand, Axel wasn’t meeting his gaze.

“Axel...?” he pressed, unnerved by the silence, but Axel shook his head.

“You heard my boss, I can’t do anything else to help you, I’m sorry,” he said, and his voice sounded tired and flat. “It’s on the way so you can tag along, but you’ll have to find your own way home.”

“But how am I supposed to--”

“Axel, when will you stop this foolishness?”

Saix’s voice interrupted Roxas’ complaint before he could get it out in full, and he jumped, actually jumped in fright to see the Beastmaster sitting atop his mount a few paces ahead. How he’d managed to sneak in front of them with a horse that size was unfathomable, but Roxas didn’t dwell on it. He was too busy watching the restless duskhunds flanking the horse, their large yellow eyes staring directly at him.

Saix’s tone hadn’t quite been a command, but it stopped Axel in his tracks regardless. Roxas wished that he still had his stick, but he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to hold it anymore anyway. He clutched the cat to his chest instead, feeling the whining growl building in the small creature’s frame as it, too, watched the panting hounds.

“You were lucky today,” Saix continued when Axel didn’t reply. “Lord Xemnas has given you another chance. Do you need me to ensure that the effort was not wasted?” The way Saix’s eyes flickered over Roxas before returning to Axel made his stomach turn again, and he stepped behind Axel, using him as a shield.

“I’ll take _care_ of it,” Axel snapped. Saix’s expression softened ever so slightly.

“See that you do, old friend. No construct is worth the cost.” Saix turned his horse, but paused. “If nothing else, remember Demyx’s fate.” He kicked his horse and was gone, the duskhunds gliding along at his heels, eerily silent.

Axel stood for a few minutes after Saix and his hounds had left, and Roxas waited beside him, unsure of what else he could do or say. He’d been confused before, and now the rising alarm and panic was back-- he hadn’t liked the way the others in the group had so casually referred to him as a puppet, a doll, or a construct.

He might not know a _lot_ of mythology, but he had been forced to replay a miniboss featuring a Faery Simulacrum that had taken the shape of one of the main character’s best friends before that best friend could be returned. The characters in the game had referred to it as a ‘construct’ and ‘puppet’, too. But how it related to _him_ and how it would affect him getting back home he didn’t know, didn’t actually _care_ , he just wanted tonight’s nightmare to fade when he woke up safe in his own bed.

He had so many damn questions and Axel was just standing there, staring off into space again. But Saix’s warning had reminded him, and he shifted the cat to one arm, then reached out to tug at Axel’s sleeve again.

“Demyx said you owed him,” he said, and that made Axel turn, but his expression was still troubled. When he still didn’t say anything, Roxas tugged harder. “He said he hasn’t forgotten about the ocean.”

Axel shuddered and closed his eyes again, and Roxas tried not to notice how pale his hand’s outline had become, or how numb it felt.

“There has to be something I can do, it’s not _fair,_ ” he pressed, fighting the growing panic. “You’re magic, right? Can’t you do something to make it stop? I’d do anything to get home again.”

“Who said anything about things being fair?” was Axel’s bitter reply, but he’d opened his eyes again and was looking down at Roxas with an intensity that he could _feel_. Roxas shivered, unwilling to unpack the emotions racing through him, and focused on the heat he could feel where he still touched Axel’s arm, and where the fat cat lay plastered against his shoulder.

Then something in Axel’s demeanor changed, like he’d come to some sort of decision. He tilted his head to give Roxas a critical once over, expression changing to thoughtful, then... His tongue ghosted over his lips out for a flash before he cracked an unsettling grin. His posture changed, too, back to that liquid grace he’d shown when he first appeared before Roxas in the mansion courtyard.

“ _Anything?”_  he repeated in such a way that had Roxas letting go and stepping back. This made Axel’s smile widen, a fierce, feral thing completely different than his laid back grin from before. “I suppose there might be _something_ I could do for you, but the real question is is there something _you_ could do for _me_?”

Roxas jumped at the voice that practically purred into his ear and he took a few steps back to get some distance, but Axel was already on the other side of him, one hand out to stop him with fingers pressed up against his chest. Roxas flinched back in surprise but Axel’s fingers followed, walking their way up his chest and stopping at his lips.

“I wonder what you would do, if I told you I would help.”

Roxas yanked his head away from the touch and brought his arms up cross over his chest.

“I’m literally fading away, right? Like, _dying?_ So, _yeah_ , if you have suggestions, I’m all ears. I’m willing to do whatever it takes.” He shivered a little at the thought, though if it was in fear or anticipation, he didn’t know.

If he really was facing mortal peril-- and the growing queasiness and light-headed faintness was doing a great job convincing him that he was -- if he really was dying and he waited too long because he was too damn proud to …. _perform_ whatever service Axel wanted, it wouldn’t matter anyway. Besides, Axel had been flirting with him the entire trip here, and Roxas hadn’t been _adverse_ to the attention, per se, just too frightened and confused to really give as good as he got.

There was a small voice in the back of his memory screaming at him, reminding him that there were pages and pages of mythology warning him that mortals who made deals with mythological creatures always, _always_ ended up getting the short end of the stick. That the creature in question would bend the rules to suit their fancy, twisting words and making a mortal too helpless to resist.

But he’d already gotten the short end of the stick, and Axel had spent the entire evening keeping him safe. Granted, he’d been kind of an asshole while doing it, but it would hardly be in his best interests to hurt Roxas if he wanted him for something. And despite the intonation in his voice, Axel could ask for _anything_ , so it was possible he was just jumping to stupid conclusions.

He straightened his shoulders and looked Axel straight in the eyes, and tried to put more confidence in his tone than he felt.

“I’d make a deal with a devil, yeah, if that’s what it took,” he said, mirroring Axel’s fierce grin back at him. That response seemed to throw Axel. His intent gaze faltered for a moment, falling into an angry frown.

“Hey, _rude_ , I’m not a devil.”

“You have horns, what else am I supposed to think? What are you?” Roxas insisted, and Axel stopped walking at that, but didn’t turn around. Roxas set the cat down on the ground to walk over to Axel again. He decided to try a different tactic, now that it was Axel on the defensive. “What did Demyx mean? About the ocean?”

Axel’s gaze went distant, immediately lost in thought, and for a moment Roxas didn’t think he’d say anything. But after a brief hesitation and reflection on the question, Axel started walking again, speaking low as he headed down the moonlit road.

“They’d made it to the beach before Xemnas and the others caught up to them. He destroyed her in front of everyone, tore her apart piece by piece, right down to the very essence of her core until there was nothing left.” He shuddered. “I told Xemnas they were running away so he wouldn’t turn me into a duskhund.”

Roxas took a step back, startled, but he’d seen Xemnas. He’d _seen_ the monstrous dogs. He wanted to think he wouldn’t betray his friends in a similar situation, but then, didn’t he _just_ tell Axel he was willing to do anything to survive? He shivered. “I wanna go home.”

“Don’t we all…” Axel muttered, then shifted his expression to something more neutral. “So that’s a yes, right? I need a clear _yes_ to do this.”

“I know my options are limited, but I’d feel better knowing what I’m saying ‘yes’ to before I agree to anything,” Roxas said, and Axel chuckled, although it was a shadow of his earlier mood.

“I’ll bind you to me,” Axel said, leaning against the tree and crossing his arms. “I can be an anchor that’ll tether you to this place so you don’t dissolve.”

“....like a leash?”

“Like a _spell,_ ” Axel corrected, but the corner of his lips upticked to a smirk. “But if you’re into that kind of thing, I’m sure I could find you a collar.”

“What kind of spell?” Roxas asked, cheeks flushed. The heat of his face was strange compared to the tingle traveling up his arm, the _not there-_ ness getting more and more pronounced as an aching chill running up his limb.

“A spell that will keep you from disappearing.” Axel rolled his eyes, then held up a hand to stave off any further questions. “I’ll help you out, keep you safe while you’re on this side of the Veil, but in return, I want a favor.”

Roxas didn’t like the way he said that, but he could still remember the shimmer of Twilight Town, his _home_ , tantalizingly close and yet impossible to reach. Right now, Axel was the closest thing to reality he had. He felt his hands start to clench into fists and opted to tuck them under his arms, keeping off the growing chill and resisting the urge to ..do something. He wasn’t sure what.

“I can’t do magic or anything, I don’t know what you’d expect from me.”

Axel laughed, shaking his head. “It’s easy. All you’ve gotta do is say my name.”

Something shifted at that, memories in the back of his mind trying to resurface. Roxas felt like there was something important in that, something to do with the old legends and warnings about Fae messing with mortals. He couldn’t remember any details, though, just that names were important and that the humans in those tales usually ended up getting the shaft-- in some cases, quite literally. And given how much Axel had been flirting with him….

“This isn’t some weird sex thing for you, is it?” he asked, scowling at Axel as he reclined against the tree. “Like you’re not going to make me say your name while you’re… _you know._ ”

Axel stared at him for a heartbeat before he bent over at the waist, a peal of laughter coming so sudden and so loud that it startled Roxas into taking a step back. Axel clutched at his sides, laughing a good minute or two before getting himself under control again.

“Wow, you really have me pegged for an asshole, huh?” He wiped away the tears, then grinned. “Not that you’re wrong, I definitely am, but that’s _not_ what I was getting at. No, all you have to do is say my name aloud, that’s it.”

He gave Roxas a lewd once over, then winked. “And while the idea of having you call out my name under _other_ circumstances is highly intriguing, I dunno what fairytales you’ve been reading, but not all of the Unseelie are out looking for a lay. And I already told you, I don’t force myself on the unwilling. Get it memorized already. Everything I do requires a firm _yes_ \-- and if I want something, I’ll tell you. I don’t have time for dealing in riddles and shit, I _hate_ rhyming.”

“Oh,” Roxas replied, letting out his breath. He felt… relief, yes, and definitely embarrassed for jumping to the wrong conclusions. Apparently _he_ was considering Axel’s flirting more serious than Axel himself, which… he didn’t want to think about why that made him feel just the teensiest bit disappointed. Axel was going to help him. He wasn’t going to fade away and they were going to get him home.

“So all I have to do is say your name and you’ll help me get out of here, right?” he asked. Axel nodded, and Roxas took a deep breath. “Ok then. _Axel_.”  
There was a strange tingle to his lips when he spoke the name with purpose, and Axel seemed fascinated by the way his name sounded in Roxas’ voice. Axel’s smile dropped into something less playful and far more dangerous but no less intriguing. He used a clawed finger to tilt Roxas’ head up to look at him.

“Hmm, I like the sound of that,” he said, then pressed the finger to Roxas’ lips to keep him from speaking further. “But I’ve gotta bind you to me first, and you’ve gotta be out on the other side so I can tag along. Don’t worry, I’ll tell you what you need to say right before you cross over.”

“Wait, so like… you want me to summon you?” Roxas asked when Axel moved his thumb, wondering if it was anything like the video games he played with the gang. Could you summon elves? Was Axel even an elf? Given the horns he was probably closer to a demon, despite his insistence that he wasn’t a devil. So it made sense that he’d be able to summon Axel with the proper spell, but… “Why do you want to go to the other side?”

Axel’s smile faltered. He stepped back and crossed his arms, giving him a half-hearted shrug.

“Look, I don’t have to help you if you’re not interested…”

Roxas grabbed his arm before he could walk away. “Fine, touchy subject, I’ll drop it. _Yes_ , I want to get out of here, so I’ll do it.”

“Do what?”

“I’ll call out your name when I get home in exchange for your help in getting across the Veil.”

Roxas held out his hand, but Axel laughed, batting it away.

“This isn’t a ‘shake on it’ kind of bargain, Roxas,” he chided, and Roxas lowered his hand, dubious.

“Ok, so, what,” he asked, trying to think of what Axel meant. The only thing he could think of… “You wanna kiss on it to seal the deal or something?” he joked, but then Axel was right there, cupping his chin and tilting his head up. Roxas could feel the pricks of claws against his cheeks, but Axel was gentle, smile back on his face, full of promise and something darker.

“ _Exactly_ ,” he said, and as Roxas opened his mouth to ask what the hell he thought he was doing, Axel answered that question immediately by catching his mouth with his own.

Axel tasted like mulled wine, something spicy that burned and numbed Roxas’ tongue as he felt the unexpected intrusion. He opened his mouth further-- to complain or to welcome him in, he wasn’t sure-- and he felt Axel whisper something into the kiss, and the tingling sensation along his lips traveled back and down, flooding his system with adrenaline.

Axel teased his lips with tiny brushes of teeth, and Roxas shuddered, bringing his hands up to clutch at Axel’s shoulders. He’d had every intention to push him away, but ended up taking fistfuls of the fabric to hold on instead. Axel took that as an offer to slide in closer. One hand slid through his hair to tilt Roxas’ head back, giving Axel’s lips easier access to his neck. The other hand slid down his back to his hips, pulling him in flush against the heated leather of Axel’s clothes. Roxas couldn't quite catch the half moan that escaped with that touch, and Axel chuckled, trailing his lips back up and seeking Roxas' mouth again. Roxas didn't hesitate this time, letting him in and getting another exquisite taste.

Then Axel bit down, hard, and Roxas tasted blood. The cut burned as it came in contact with the spicy taste of Axel, sending a searing wave of heat through his body. Startled, he came back to his senses and pulled away, spitting out the blood that he could and then bringing his fingers up to his swollen lips.

“What the fuck was _that?_ ” he asked when he’d recovered enough breath to speak.

“The bargain is struck. A blood binding to seal the deal,” Axel said, licking his lips. He grinned, and winked down at Roxas as he spluttered for some sort of response. “And kiss to sweeten it along. You shouldn’t have to worry about phasing through trees anymore, so you’re welcome for that.”

“What the hell is your problem?”

“You, for the time being.” Axel grinned, once again in good humor. He licked his lips again, distracted as he watched Roxas. “Our deal will keep you good through the rest of the night and should mask your presence enough to keep the hounds at bay, but you’re gonna need more than that to get through the veil.”

“Seriously?” Roxas asked, probing the cut with his tongue. He could still taste Axel, but the pain had already died down to a low ache, the cut itself not really all that big now that most of the bleeding had stopped “So we’re just not gonna talk about your tongue in my mouth?”

“Do you _want_ to talk about it? Because we could, or if you wanted to see what _else_ I can do I’m sure we could spare some--”

“Forget it, just… forget it,” Roxas said, hating the fact that he _was_ interested, dammit, despite the non-human issue and every other weird thing that had happened tonight. He still tasted the burning spice on his tongue, and licked his lips again. Axel’s eyes watched the movement. “What am I supposed to do now that you’ve stabilized me, for lack of a better term? Is there someone else who can get me home?”

“Fortunately, you’re with me, and when you’re with me, you’ve got friends on the other side.” Axel pointed in the direction they’d been heading, then held out a hand, like he wanted them to face the road side by side. “We’re off to see the wizard!”

“Who?” Roxas asked, taking Axel’s offered hand.

“Well, technically, we’re going to see the Witch who watches over the Wizard, but, y’know, semantics,” Axel replied, explaining nothing. “My assignment,” he said when Roxas just frowned at him. “Xemnas will kill me if I don’t get back to my post, but fortunately my post happens to be _right_ where you need to go, too. Trust me, it’ll be fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I found a [ **really pretty rendition of Xion's theme on guitar** ](https://youtu.be/4GX88YLluTo?t=7)that I had on loop while I wrote a large section of this chapter.
> 
> Also, [**I drew some art**](https://sirladysketch.tumblr.com/post/182857838093/i-completely-forgot-to-post-these-doodles-for-me) for this fic! A rough idea of what I was thinking in terms of Axel and Saix's looks.


	7. Chapter 7

‘Fine’ was a bit of a long stretch, given that it turned out that the witch had defenses in place that Axel had failed to mention, or, more likely, hadn’t been aware of himself.

Even with the ‘gift’ of magic from Axel, after the initial buzz of power wore off Roxas wasn’t feeling much better. He wasn’t falling through things anymore which was a plus, except that it meant now he was stumbling _over_ things again, tripped up by unseen debris in the dark. On top of that, his initial nausea as a reaction to magic had shifted into a low ache of hunger at the pit of his stomach, and while he knew he could ignore it for a while, he also knew he wasn’t going to last much longer before he had to eat _something_ , and that thought was even worse than the nausea.

"Slow _down_ ," Roxas yelped as he tripped on a root and stumbled to a stop. He leaned forward to heave in deep breaths, closing his eyes against yet another wave of dizziness.

Physical distresses aside, he was still grappling with a situation that had gone on far too long to be considered a hallucination or a dream. There were demon dogs out there hunting down beasts that used to be human, and he was cold and frightened in a weird world where there was magic and random hot guys with horns, they were off to see the wizard or whatever and he could _still_ taste Axel on his tongue, dammit, but he needed to stop getting distracted by that and just figure out how the hell he was going to get home when he was fighting to stay awake.

He swayed a little where he stood before he sat down, hard, and put his head in his hands to think. Axel made a gentle ‘tsking’ noise and walked over to crouch down at eye level.

"We’re not outta the woods yet," he said, and the grin widened when Roxas looked up to glare at him. “Or was this a ploy to get me to carry you again?” He waited, no doubt expecting some sort of witty repartee, and when Roxas failed to respond with an angry retort, the smile fell. “Are you ok?” he asked with what sounded like genuine concern, and he tilted Roxas’ head up to study his face.

"I feel like shit," Roxas admitted, “I’m tired and I’m hungry, and I still have no idea what’s going on.  I’m _exhausted_ and I’m not sure how much farther I can go, and I have to jog to keep up with you.”

Axel frowned at him a moment longer, considering, then he put a hand on Roxas shoulder, giving him a light pat.

“You’re doing great,” he said, and gave Roxas’ shoulder a squeeze of encouragement. “It’s not that much farther, I promise, but I can take you the rest of the way if you want. I forget how fragile mortals are. Something tells me it’s way past your bedtime.”

“I’m not a child,” Roxas snapped, then flushed as Axel chuckled. Axel shook his head, and gave Roxas’ shoulder another sympathetic pat.

“Time passes differently here,” Axel explained, then gestured to the sky. “On the night of the Hunt, it’s night for the duration of the chase, and the chase lasts for as long as the Huntmaster wants it to. If we followed the clock tower’s time from your hometown, it’s probably closer to… six in the morning? Seven, maybe.”

 _He’d be getting up for classes right about now_ , Roxas thought. He’d planned to meet up with the gang after class so he could reap his rewards for taking on the bet, imagining Hayner’s face when he--

“Shit,” he said, and fumbled in his jacket pockets to pull out his phone. The gang had probably gone up to the mansion to see what had happened to him, probably called the police when he wasn’t at home or answering his phone. Would they have to wait 24 hours before he was officially missing? That’s how it worked on tv, anyway, but Hayner’s dad was a cop, so maybe they’d look for him on an unofficial basis.

His fingers brushed against cold plastic and he took out the phone to power it on. It was slow to respond, battery running low, but he could still make out the time. _12:01 am_. He frowned, then looked up at Axel, who’d been watching the whole charade.

“Time passes different here,” he repeated. “When we get to the witch’s hut we can probably find something that’s ok for you to eat, and I’m sure she’ll have a place where you can crash while I got do what I’ve gotta do. I’ll get you home as quick as I can, ok? I promised, didn’t I?”

He smiled, then stood up and leaned down to help Roxas to his feet. Roxas slid the phone back into the pocket without another word, and gratefully took Axel’s hand to rise. This time, Axel didn’t even ask-- he simply turned and hunched over with a “hop on.”

Pride had no room for complaint when you’d been up for more than 24 hours and you’d somehow been transported to the Faerie Realm and ended up getting yourself magically bound to a Fae inhabitant he’d probably be dreaming about for _weeks_ after this, if he got out of here alive. Roxas just sighed and got on Axel’s back, throwing arms around his neck and holding on as Axel stood in a swift, fluid movement. He let out a short squawk of indignation when Axel gave his butt a friendly pat, but teasing aside he felt better almost immediately, resting his head against Axel’s shoulder as they took off at a rapid, steady lope.

He closed his eyes and tried to ignore how his stomach and nerves seemed to settle as the contact intensified the feeling of Axel’s magic. He very deliberately did not think about the hands holding up his thighs or the heat bleeding through Axel’s leather coat. Instead, he thought about what kind of spell a witch might be able to do that Axel couldn’t, and what he’d do while Axel left him there with her while he went to do his thing for his boss.

He fell into a light doze thinking about it, stirring only when he felt Axel begin to slow. When they stopped outright he lifted his head to look over Axel’s shoulder, then shimmed down to stand beside him.

The place was pretty nondescript as these things went: A squat two-level cottage with thatched roof and gabled windows, nestled between the trunks of two ancient trees, and with a thin trail of smoke that curled up through the branches and into the canopy. The surrounding area held more interest-- there was a lush garden of wildflowers and vegetables in front, and an old stone well that looked like it had erupted from the forest floor in a pile of stones, moss, and mushrooms. The whole effect was like something straight out of a fairytale, which made sense, given where they were.

Still, it seemed relatively mundane for a supposedly powerful witch. He’d have thought that there’d be, like… floating skulls in the trees, or a yard overrun with black cats. Even a bubbling cauldron-- _something_ that would make it more sinister than same random cottage in the woods. Roxas hadn’t been expecting it to look pleasant and welcoming, no more than he expected the sudden slam of magic that sent him skidding back against Axel’s chest.

Axel caught him on reflex and held him still while he tried to blink back the spots of red and white that peppered his vision. He brought up a hand to rub at his eyes, then froze when he felt the cold press of something sharp against his throat. He flinched and waited for another attack, but Axel just sighed. He used his hold on Roxas to pull him away from the unseen blade.

“You’re still here, huh?” Axel scoffed, but pressed against his chest, Roxas could feel the light tremors running through taught muscles, and sensed Axel’s magic at the ready. Axel had been just as surprised as he was, and that didn’t exactly put him at ease. Still, Axel wasn’t actively shielding him from another attack, nor did Roxas get the impression Axel was using _him_ as a shield. He sounded… mildly annoyed, if anything.

“I wouldn’t have thought she’d wanna waste the magic to keep you kicking,” Axel said. He relaxed his hold on Roxas, who took the opportunity to scrub away the rest of the spots.

When his vision cleared Roxas took a hard look at their attacker, and was surprised to see that it just a boy. The kid had to be a few years younger than him, 15 at most, but he seemed capable enough with the weird batwing-shaped sword he held. Like a knight from legends, he was dressed in some sort of armor, but the hardened black metal flowed over toned muscles like a second skin, and between the sinewed plates burned blue channels of what had to be magic. No doubt the witch had made it extra durable, giving her champion the best protection she could afford.

The boy seemed just as unimpressed with Axel as Axel had been with him. He sneered at them in response, although he did lower the sword.

“What brings you here, aberrant freak?” he asked Axel, then looked over at Roxas, eyes narrowing. He looked like he wanted to say something else, but Axel interrupted him before he could really cut into them.

“I’m here to see the witch-- need a boost for my new BFF here.” Axel rubbed Roxas’ head as he said this, and laughed at Roxas’ angry squawk.

The boy’s frown deepened. “I’m not going to let you leech off of her powers,” he said, then glared at Roxas, tightening his grip on the sword. “Either of you.”

“Relax,” Axel said, and pushed the boy aside. He guided Roxas through the gate and towards the house with a gentle push, putting himself between the Roxas and the kid. “I just need tips on a spell, that’s all. And advice--she wouldn’t begrudge me that, right? Not after everything I’ve done for her.”

The boy flinched but stood aside to let them pass, then fell in behind them as Axel made his way to the door. Out of courtesy, Axel knocked three times before stepping into the house. Roxas felt a ripple in Axel’s magic as he walked over the threshold, but it wasn’t an unpleasant sensation, just a tremor of warmth passing over him before it was gone.

Roxas looked back at the young knight, but the boy simply waited for him to make the first move. Axel was already making his way deeper into the house, so Roxas ducked inside to follow. He felt that same gentle wave of magic on his skin, and then he was inside. The young knight walked in and closed the door behind them with a solid click of the bolt sliding into place.

It was sort of… messy. The smell of shaved wood was sharp against the earthy musk of what smelled like clay and stone, mixed with the light scent of wood smoke. The room was large but filled with what seemed like art supplies, giving the place a somewhat shabby look. It felt more like an artist’s studio than a witch’s lair, and Roxas tried to take in as much as possible without actually touching anything.

Still, despite the oddity of the cottage there was something familiar about the place, like he’d walked into the room and forgotten why he was there, but _knew_ that this was where he should be. The same way he could feel Axel’s magic pulling him along, this place had a lulling aura of “home.” He could see why Axel would want to come here to rest for a while, and it made him all the more curious about this witch and her powers.

Then the young knight pushed past him and put himself between them and the stairs. He glared at both of them before pointing towards one of the less-cluttered couches.

“Sit,” he said. “I’ll let her know you’re here.”

The boy disappeared up the steps and Roxas turned to Axel, waiting to see what their next move was. Axel gestured to the high-backed couch, and Roxas sank into it with a grateful sigh. Axel remained standing and alert, although he seemed a little less tense than he’d been outside. It must’ve been an effect of the room-- it felt cozy, inviting, pleasantly cool, and soothing. Roxas relaxed against the plush fabric with a quiet sigh. It was probably partly the exhaustion, part the witch’s magic, but he probably didn’t have to worry if Axel trusted her. He hoped so, anyway.

They didn’t have to wait long. A few minutes after he’d gone upstairs, the boy returned. He briefly scowled at Axel but the expression softened as light footsteps sounded on the stairs and a young woman came into view.

While Roxas had never seen a witch (that he knew of, anyway), he hardly expected a teenager around his age to have even half the power Axel had implied. She looked frail and delicate, with wispy blonde hair pulled back into a loose braid. Of course, she _wasn’t_ a typical teenager, given the fact that she was also giving off a pale white glow of some sort of magic, and there were pale, gossamer wings sprouting from her back. She looked otherworldly and like she was born of light-- or would have, if the effect hadn’t been ruined by a smear of blue paint across one cheek. Roxas liked her immediately.

She laughed sweetly as Axel met her at the bottom of the stairs to take her hand and bowed low, brushing a light kiss across her knuckles.

“My lady,” he practically purred, and Roxas could practically _feel_ the young knight’s hackles rise beside him, but the witch simply withdrew her hand and used a finger under the chin to guide Axel’s head back.

“We weren’t expecting you for a few more days, were we Riku?” she asked the young knight. For his part, ‘Riku’ crossed his arms and looked away to frown at the floor. Axel glanced back  at him, the smile on his face starting to show teeth.

“ _Riku_ , huh?” he asked, then turned back to the young woman. “I wasn’t aware you were so taken with the Prince’s consort that you’d borrow the name,” he said, whatever _that_ meant.

It seemed aimed at the young knight more than the witch, but Riku refused to rise to the bait. The witch made a tsking noise then wandered over to one of the cupboards to pull out a worn teapot and cups. She tapped it twice and steam began to rise from the spout.

“Riku is his own person and chose his own name,” she said, which didn’t clear up anything at all, but it made Riku relax enough to take over the tea service. He poured the girl a cup, then handed Axel another, his mouth set in a firm line of displeasure. He didn’t take a cup for himself, nor did he offer one to Roxas, which was fine by him. He wasn’t that fond of tea to begin with, and Axel had warned him about Fae foods.

Roxas looked over at Axel, wondering what the game plan was, but Axel just waited for the girl to sit on one of the overstuffed chairs, wings tucking themselves out of sight. She kept her eyes lowered as she sipped her tea, seemingly oblivious to Roxas’ presence. Axel decided to lounge against the couch by Roxas, not _quite_ hiding him from view, but he didn’t say anything about Roxas being there, either. Roxas played with the hem of his shirt, suddenly nervous. Axel _did_ have a plan… right?

“Anything I should know about our friend?” Axel asked, apparently satisfied enough to let the ‘Riku’ thing pass. She sighed, and the pale aura of magic around her shifted.

“Do I ever have anything to report?” She sipped her tea and closed her eyes, as though swallowing the brew was an ordeal. “He’s been sleeping, and when he’s not sleeping, he’s sulking.”

Axel shrugged, and took a drink, too. “Guess no change is good.” She opened her eyes and frowned at him, setting the cup on the table beside her.

“Axel, he _needs_ to see Ven. He won’t admit it, but--” she broke off, looking beyond Axel and noticing Roxas for the first time. Her hand shot to her mouth, and then she hopped off her seat to walk over and get a closer look. “It’s you!”

Roxas remained as still as possible, mindful of Riku’s shift to attention where he lurked in the corner of the room. She seemed even shorter up close, somehow, but her grip was strong as she gently pulled him to his feet. She walked around him, making curious noises, then came to a stop to stand in front of him, steepling her fingers.

“Roxas!” she said, delight in her voice, and he could feel her genuine delight in saying it. “I never thought I’d ever actually get a chance to meet you!”

“ _Roxas_?” the knight asked, startled from his sulk, but Roxas was focused on the girl in front of him, wondering why she felt so familiar.

“Do I know you?” he asked, and she laughed again, a light tittering noise.

“No, but I know you. Well, about you,” she clarified, then walked back to her seat. She patted the place beside her as she sat, and Roxas joined her at the table, waiting for her to explain. “My name is Naminé. I helped weave together the pieces of memories that formed your heart.”

She moved to place a hand on his chest, but he flinched away from her touch. He looked back at Axel for some sort of clarification, but Axel just watched from his position against the couch, empty teacup spinning lazily around a finger. Riku had more emotions on his face, although he seemed more irritated at _Roxas_ than taken aback by what Naminé has said.

It didn’t make sense. Nothing about this made sense, but she’d said it so _casually_ and with such conviction he was sure that somehow, although it he couldn’t make heads or tails of anything whatsoever, she was telling the truth.

It felt _right_.

He felt like everything he knew was a lie.

“Just… just hold on a second. What’s going _on?_ ” he started, but he didn’t even know where to go from there. The threads were unraveling faster than he could hold onto them, and he felt himself getting more and more ensnarled. A hand on his shoulder snapped him back into focus, the now-familiar warmth of Axel’s magic tingling through the layers of cloth.

For her part, Naminé dropped her hand and clasped it in her other, settling them in her lap. “I didn’t want to meet you like this,” she admitted.

“He needs your help getting back home,” Axel cut in before Roxas could reply. When she looked up at him, he nodded to Roxas. “We need to get him back to where he came from before Xemnas ends the Hunt.”

She shivered at that, but turned to face Roxas again. She held out her hands, palm up, and after a moment he placed his hands on hers. She smiled at him, reassuring, then closed her eyes. There was a flood of soothing coolness from where their skin touched, and some of the lingering aches faded away. But the taste of Axel was sharp on his tongue, and after a moment, she opened her eyes again to study him with open curiosity. She reached out and brushed a thumb lightly over his cut lip, and he felt a flare of power-- hers, _and_ Axel’s.

“So _that’s_ why I didn’t sense you,” she said, and then turned to look up at Axel. “You masked him with some of your magic.”  

Axel shrugged. “Not a lot, I just needed to stabilize him. He was falling apart.”

“Enough that you altered the spell’s framework,” she replied, giving Roxas’ cheek a pat before sitting back in her seat again. “I can see where you patched the hole, but there’s another layer that stretches over other parts of the spells. It almost looks like you’ve--” she cut herself and frowned at him, some irritation slipping past her docile expression. “What are you up to, Axel?”  

“Who, me?” Axel asked with a grin. He ruffled Roxas’ hair before stepping back and away. “Just give him a once over and explain stuff, will you? Oh! And he’s hungry, you’ve got stuff that’s ok for him, right? I’m gonna go have a chat with our dear friend.” He turned to go, but Roxas jumped up and grabbed his arm before he could get too far.

“Don’t just _leave_ me here!” Roxas said. Axel sighed, turning to face him again.

“Look, I told you before you’ll be ok with her,” he said. “You’ve seen my boss, you saw what happens to people who piss him off. I’ll come back for you, promise.”

Roxas held on even tighter. It wasn’t that he didn’t _believe_ Axel, or that he doubted that he planned to come back, but Axel was the one constant of his entire time here, and the thought of losing track of him, no matter how temporary, made him more terrified than the thought of facing down a hundred hounds. Axel must’ve seen it in his face because his expression softened a little.

“It’s not safe for you to come with me. This guy I’ve gotta go see, he’s not the friendliest person to meet, especially if he’s in a mood, and I promised I’d protect you.” He stuck his free hand into his shirt to draw out a small pouch from around his neck, then dropped it onto Roxas’ hand. “Here, I want you to hold onto this for me, ok?”

Roxas turned over the small bag, trying to figure out what it was. It was light and clattered quietly as it shifted in his palm, but there was nothing on the bag to indicate what it was. It felt like Axel’s magic, warm and tingly, but other than that, it just looked like a normal leather coin purse, like one you’d buy at a renaissance fest. Roxas stared at it, trying to judge what was in it by weight and textures, but Axel curled his fingers around it until he was holding it in his fist.

“It’s my good luck charm,” Axel explained when Roxas just looked up at him, confused. “Evidence that I will be back for you -- and my bag -- so you don’t have to worry about getting left behind. Don’t open it, though, of you’ll lose stuff and the good luck will wear off.”

Roxas frowned at the bag, but Axel tilted his head up, chucked him under the chin and smiled. “Naminé will treat you right. Get some food and some rest, and when I get back we’ll get you home.”

And before Roxas could argue the point, Axel had slipped out of his hold and was out the door, leaving Roxas standing in the middle of the room. He turned to look at Naminé and Riku, although they didn’t seem all that surprised by Axel’s abrupt departure. Instead, Naminé took his hand in hers.

“I’m happy to answer any questions you might have,” she said without preamble, and gave his hand an encouraging squeeze. But he felt his throat close up-- there was so _much_ he didn’t understand and wanted to ask, he had no idea where to start.

“I…” he started, then flushed as an angry stomach gurgle interrupted him. She laughed and guided him to a chair, then headed back to her cupboards.

“We’ll talk as you eat,” she promised, and began raiding her cupboards for something suitable. Riku watched from the doorway, expressionless but intent on Roxas. For his part, Roxas stared into the cup of tea she gave him, trying to collect his thoughts. Then Naminé set a bowl of food in front of him and settled down beside him at the table, refilling her own cup.

“It’s perfectly safe, so dig in,” she said when she saw him hesitate. “I’ll try to give you some basics about where we are, but there isn’t enough time to go into everything, and I’m sure you have questions you want to ask me when you’re done. Go on, now. It’s just grains and berries, perfectly harmless, and the concerns about getting tied to this realm don’t apply to you because you already _are_ tied to this place. Well, here, and elsewhere.”

“Where is ‘here’?” Roxas asked, although he dutifully picked up the spoon and took a bite as she watched. It was good, sort of like a thick oatmeal, and he didn’t feel anything magical about it. He took another bite as Naminé tapped the rim of her teacup in thought.

“The simple answer is Faerie, which is more or less a world like the one you came from, but with magic and a more diverse population of peoples and cultures,” she said, which didn’t really help. He’d already gathered that much on his own. “To be more specific, you’re in a section of Faerie controlled by Xemnas, who’s a high lord of the Unseelie Court-- ah, I think humans sometimes refer to it as the Shadow Court, but it’s more nuanced than that.”

“So Xemnas is a bad guy?” Roxas asked around a mouthful of food. Naminé shook her head, sighing.

“He’s not a _nice_ person,” she said, “But he’s not inherently evil. He’s a high lord of the courts, which means that it’s better to avoid doing anything that warrants his attention. Just understand that there are courts of light and darkness, and while they’re diametrically opposed, they also balance the other out.”

She held up her hands as though weighing out a scale. “You can’t have one without the other, and the human world is sort of like a Twilight realm between the two. You must have done something or been in the wrong place at the wrong time to end up here, because there were spells in place that were meant to keep you safe.”

“I was on a dare,” he said. “I had to go to the mansion at midnight and get a picture to prove there wasn’t a ghost.”

Riku broke his silence with a derisive snort. “And you fell through the wards? Pathetic.”

“ _Riku_ ,” Naminé chided, then turned her attention back to Roxas. “The Veil is thin on nights of the Hunt,” she explained, “There are any number of things that might’ve snapped the spell that kept you anchored in Twilight Town.”

“The bell tolled thirteen times,” Roxas supplied. “I thought I’d miscounted, but… maybe not?”

“Maybe,” Naminé said. She refilled their cups and took a sip before starting up again. “I’d have to study your spellwork in more depth, but a loud magical resonance probably didn’t help if it was already under extreme tension. And given everything that’s been happening on this side of the Veil lately…. You’re lucky that Axel found you when he did, and that he knew the spell to bind you to him.” She sighed, sounding a little sad. “Little wonder, given his experiences. It’s probably one of the few he has memorized.”

Roxas shivered. “People called me a _construct_ ,” he said, trying to remember if they’d mentioned anything else. Mostly yelling at Axel, he thought, and something about a girl being torn apart. He shivered. “I don’t understand what that means, I’m just a normal person.”

“Didn’t you think it was weird, a teenager living on his own in a big city?” Riku interrupted. Naminé gave him a sharp look, but Roxas shook his head.

“No. I have a family, I live with my parents.”

Riku snorted. “Yeah? What’re their names?”

“They’re--” Roxas stopped, trying to think on it, but for the life of him he couldn’t remember his parent’s _faces_ , let alone their names. He scowled at Riku. “You’re doing something to mess with my head.”

Riku wasn’t even subtle rolling his eyes. “If that’ll make it easier, buddy, sure, whatever.”

“It’s part of the spell,” Naminé explained, no doubt wanting to stop them before a fight broke out. “The spell that keeps you together also keeps you grounded in your environment, ensuring that you fit in. In Twilight Town, you have a home and go to school and do things other people your age would do because it’s expected of you. You might have been created here, but you _live_ over there.”

“You keep saying ‘spell’ but then you say that magic doesn’t exist in the human world,” Roxas said, trying not to think about what other parts of his life might be a lie. “How do I know that this isn’t a trick? That you’re not doing something to mess with my head and get me to play along with… whatever it is you want me to do?”

“You have a scar over your heart that looks like the roman numerals for 13,” Naminé said, and his hand went up to cover the spot as a reflex. She smiled. “If you’re like Ventus, you also like sleeping in and stargazing.”

“Ventus,” he repeated. “Ven. Someone mentioned a Ven at the campsite, they said I looked like him. Why?”

“Because you’re a copy of him, idiot,” Riku said again.

“ _Riku_!” Naminé chided him, then pointed to the door. “You’re not helping. Please stop interrupting or I’ll ask you to wait outside so I can finish explaining everything before Roxas falls asleep at the table.”

Riku subsided and walked back to the other side of the room to stand guard, arms crossed. Naminé sighed, then took Roxas’ hand in hers once again.

“Two of the knights from the Seelie Court got into a fight and an argument broke out,” she said. “It was vicious, even by Fae standards, and it caused a rift in one of the great houses. The knights were badly injured by the battle, where parts of their very being splintered off. They were taken to the best healers available, but many of the magical fragments were so small that it was impossible to discern which magic belonged to which knight. To complicate matters, they’re twins, so it was already difficult to differentiate between their powers.”

She gave Riku a look to stop him from commenting, then continued. “Without that magic contained in a cohesive way, the brothers languished. A prince of the courts knew what I could do, so he came to me with what they’d been able to collect. He asked me to do what I could to rescue what was left, so I sealed it in a vessel and brought it to life.”

She patted his hand, and he was surprised by the warmth. Then he realized she felt warm because he’d gone cold, and he shivered again, wishing Axel was there.

“When you came to life, the brothers’ conditions stabilized,” she said, then gave a sad sigh. “But as soon as they were mobile they started fighting again, and you were damaged in one of the attacks. I patched you up as well as I could, but the High King thought your presence was too risky.”

“So you were ordered to dump me in the human world?” Roxas asked. He didn’t mean to sound so sarcastic but it was a wild story and they had yet to provide any proof. She’d probably guessed about the scar, or used magic to find out about it. There was no way what she was saying could be true. He was human. He had parents, and he went to school, and he had friends who were probably panicking about his disappearance. He was _real._

“We were ordered to destroy you,” Riku supplied. “So we ran out in the middle of the night to spirit you away. You’re welcome for that, by the way.”

“We took steps to ensure your safety,” Naminé agreed. “For all intents and purposes, we left you to live out the rest of your life among the humans of Twilight Town.”

“Say I believe you, that I'm some creation of yours. Like, am I actually alive?” he asked, not wanting to believe it, but… he couldn’t remember his parents’ faces. Or the last time he’d gotten sick. Or a time that he’d been young, come to think of it.The oatmeal sat heavy in his stomach, and his chest ached. He _wished_ Axel was there.

“I told you before, I helped make your heart,” Naminé replied. “You’re as real as anyone, now.”

“And the fading away?”

“Whatever brought you to this side, whether it was the bell toll or something else, damaged the spell that kept you tethered to your home,” she said. “Think of it like an unraveling sweater. Axel used some of his own magic to tie up the loose ends, as it were.”

“And he tied me to him in the process,” Roxas finished, still unsure if that was a good or a bad things. She sighed.

“I’m sure it was a last resort,” she said. “It was a risky thing for both of you; he’s younger than he seems and his magic still relies on consent to really take hold. Still, judging on the strength of the binding spell it looks like you were willing enough to take that risk, too. There are no signs of struggle against the spell, and he used a relatively light touch. The magic itself is a silken thread, but there’s another layer of mutual accord that strengthens the bond.”

“And it won’t snap?” he asked, trying to imagine what she must be seeing. “There’s nothing that will make it 100% sure that I won’t start fading again?”

“You could have sex,” Riku suggested helpfully, and grinned as Roxas snapped his head over to look at him. “What? You’ve never heard of sex magic? It’s pretty powerful stuff, why else would Axel follow Xemnas’ orders? Besides, I have it on good authority that he likes blonds.”

“ _Riku_ , stop teasing him,” Naminé said, but there was a faint blush across her cheeks. “...he is right, though. If you’re that concerned that _is_ a possibility, but it shouldn’t be necessary. The magic seal he gave you before should keep you stable enough to make it to the Veil and cross, then the original spell should activate again. You could also perform the same spell again, although it might not be as potent the second time around. There are other alternatives as well, although they take a bit more time. We’ll just need to wait and see how Axel fared on his mission, and then we can decide on a course of action from there. One way or another, we’ll get you home.”

Roxas opened his mouth to say…. Something. What, he wasn’t exactly sure. That he didn’t believe them, and that he had no idea how to tell his parents-- who _did_ exist, damn it-- where he’d been? That he wasn’t sure what to believe anymore because there were no such things as ghosts, but he’d met things that went bump in the night and they were terrifying? That he had a thing for redheads and leather?

Whatever it was he intended to say, it was swallowed up by a long yawn instead.

Naminé smiled and got to her feet.

“I know this is a lot to take in, and you’re exhausted from everything that’s happened. It will probably be a while before Axel gets back,” she said, taking Roxas’ dishes and putting them over by the sink. “You should get some rest. You’re safe here, and you still have a ways to go before you can get back home. Sleep, you’ll feel better, and it might give you some clarity on things. Riku will show you to one of the spare rooms. We can talk more when you wake up, if you’d like.”

The knight moved from his post by the door and waited for Roxas to move. There was too much swimming around in his head to broker much of an argument, and he stumbled to his feet, following the boy up the stairs as Naminé headed out into the garden, presumably to do witchy things. Riku didn’t say a thing when Roxas stumbled up the steps, he just caught him before he could fall, and lead him the rest of the way up and along a narrow hallway before stopping at a plain wooden door.

“You’re in here,” Riku said, and pushed open the door and stepped aside. Roxas wandered in. It was small but cozy, and the bed looked so inviting it was all Roxas could do to not fall face first into it. Instead, he turned to Riku, who gave him a short nod and turned to go. But then he hesitated at the threshold, and looked over his shoulder to give Roxas a small, understanding smile.

“It’s not as bad as it sounds,” Riku admitted, voice low. “I know it sounds awful, given where you, ah, _grew up_ , but it’s not unheard of over here. It’s an uncommon gift, to build something like us, so there aren’t many masterworks around. And Naminé is considered the most talented Master Spellcrafter of our time, longer even. You’re gonna be ok.”

“Thanks?” Roxas said, but he felt that strange hollow feeling fill in a little. Riku nodded once and then walked out, shutting the door with a quiet click. Roxas felt around in his pockets until he found Axel’s bag and felt an instant flood of warmth through his fingertips. With that reassurance clasped firmly in his hand, he settled in to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Pretty* sure the content in here is still safely in the "M" category, but if you guys think it needs to be bumped (or if I need additional tags!), just let me know. <3  
> Shoutout to Elle for giving this a readthrough to help me out!

He thought he’d be too wired to rest, but when he sank onto the bed, another yawn hit him and his eyes burned, wanting to close. He had enough presence of mind to strip off his shoes and remove his sweatshirt first, but the heavy pull of exhaustion dragged him into sleep almost immediately. His final thoughts were that he’d be too tired to dream, but he’d barely shut his eyes before he was up and ‘walking’ shoeless through a strange dreamscape variation of the Faerie world known as “the other side.”

This dream world was darker than the one he’d traveled with Axel. The magical glitter on everything was still there, yes, but it was subdued. The branches of the trees overhead blocked out his view of the stars, and shadows began to lengthen as he headed deeper and deeper into the woods. There was no path and yet he knew the way, picking up game trails when he found them, and wading through hip-high grasses when they disappeared.

He now recognized the pull of magic for what it was, a persistent tug on the edge of his consciousness that urged him onward, but it wasn’t the spicy tang of Axel’s magic, or the cool comfort of Naminé’s. This magic felt dark, and he shuddered at the way it slithered over his skin, although his feet kept moving forward. It called to him, insistent, and he wasn’t sure if he _could_ ignore it, even if he wanted to.

At least it was quiet. Without the sounds of the Hunt to haunt his dreams, the place seemed -- for lack of a better term -- _sleepy_. As though the entire area was blanketed in a layer of sound-dampening snow, but instead of snow it was darkness and shadowy magic. He probably should have been scared, but in this dream there was nothing but a gentle urge to follow the thread of magic, and the dissociative feeling that what he needed was just ahead.

Shadows skittered along the path around him like rabbits-- _were_ they shadows, or possibly more victims of the Faerie realm’s magic turned into timid beasts? They glided along the ground, flat like a cast shadow of a bird flying overhead, only to pop up a few feet in front of him to turn beady, glowing red eyes on him. They were nightmare beasts of some sort to be sure, but they lacked the hostility of the duskhunds. If anything, they seemed curious about his presence, and while he might pass his entire dream watching them dip and surface along the path around him, that persistent tug of magic kept him moving onward.

It felt like a dream, and it didn’t. A waking dream, maybe, because he was conscious of his surroundings to an almost hyper-aware state, but at the same time there was a weightless, drifting quality to his steps, and he wouldn’t have been surprised to find himself floating above the ground. He wasn’t _(he checked)_ , but he felt… fine. Maybe it was a symptom of the surety of dreaming, or maybe it was the heavy blanket of magic all around him, but for the first time in hours he wasn’t frightened of what was going to happen next, although there was a niggling ache at the back of his mind that kept him from complete peace.

A breeze shifted the branches above and a spattering of light dripped through, and with it, the faint scent of familiar magic. _Axel_. The ache sharpened into loneliness, but the trace was gone before he could alter his course to follow it, and his original heading was constant, so he kept going.

 _Axel_. He turned the name over in his mind as he walked, considering how a man he’d just met had managed to get under his skin so quickly and completely. The glib part of him said _magic_ , but another part of him knew that he’d always had a thing for taller guys, and that obnoxious confidence did more for him than his (arguably very agreeable) looks. Granted Axel was, like, more than a foot taller than even Hayner, but if he ignored the horns and got up on the balls of his feet, or better yet, if he got Axel _down_ \--

_Who would ever want to climb that tree?_

Roxas blinked, his thoughts interrupted, and stared at the trees around him. So far as he could tell he was still alone, but given that this was a dream (probably?) the intrusive voice might’ve been his more sensible side trying to break through his subconscious. Thinking about doing _anything_ with Axel aside from getting home probably wasn’t in his best interests, he knew. But it might be exciting-- _fun_ , even-- to consider what might happen if they had time before he went home. He decided his subconscious was stupid and sped up, sure that his destination was getting closer, and that he’d find his answers there.

A sliver of guilt managed to slither its way between his focus on the path ahead and his thoughts on his attractive traveling companion. He shouldn’t be thinking about anyone when he and Hayner were… something. Friends with benefits sounded crass, but they weren’t dating, just fooling around when the mood struck. Hayner had never indicated that he wanted anything more, and Roxas had never felt the need to pursue it beyond what they had.

And Axel was _intriguing_. If he made it out of here alive and completed his half of the bargain by calling out Axel’s name and summoning him over into the mundane world, maybe he could convince him to stick around before he went off to do… whatever it is demons do when they’re in the real world. Eat children? Look for corrupted souls? Roxas wasn’t sure, but he made a mean mac n’ cheese, and Axel seemed like someone who could be persuaded to linger if there was something in it for him.

Still… thoughts of Hayner made him think of the rest of the gang, too. Axel had said that time flowed differently here-- so if he got home and it was only a few minutes after midnight, should he even talk about what happened tonight? He knew for a fact they wouldn’t believe him-- hell, _he_ didn’t believe it and he was living through it -- but at the same time, it felt too surreal _not_ to share it with the others.

Maybe Pence would have some insight, he was really the expert on all things paranormal. Of course he’d probably want proof, too, but short of grabbing a glittery leaf there wasn’t much Roxas could take with him that couldn’t be found back home. He definitely didn’t think anyone else should try the midnight stakeout, either, because what if just _hearing_ the bells was enough to pull you to the other side?

_Ding ding ding, we have a winner!_

...Either the voice in his head was an even bigger asshole and more sarcastic than he’s realized, or it wasn’t _his_ voice in his head with the running commentary. He felt a chuckle well up at that, the sound coming from within his very bones.

“ _For someone made up of so much light, you’re not very bright, are you?”_

Now that he thought about it, that was definitely not his voice. His internal voice had a lighter cadence that was closer to his normal speaking voice, and the running commentary was at a much lower octave. He shivered and made an effort to walk with quieter steps, although the effect was lost when whoever it was was clearly reading his thoughts.

 _“So, what little mouse comes tip-toeing into my house?”_ the low voice purred again, and this time Roxas froze mid-step and looked around, trying to see if he’d passed over some subtle barrier, or if there was some indication of the speaker. But in this dreamscape it filtered through his thoughts to the point where he _felt_ the voice, rather than heard it. Still, he felt the pulse of magic off to the right and the shadow rabbits were heading in that direction, too.

Part of him thought he should try to wake up, or at least turn back, but turning back felt _wrong_ when he’d come this far, and it was possible that whatever magic he’d been following would lead him back to Axel. He was also starting to get the feeling that somehow this was _not_ a dream, and knew that he’d be safer by Axel’s side than not. He started walking again, which seemed to amuse the disembodied voice.

_“So bold, this little pest, to wander so freely in the dark…”_

This time Roxas stopped to look harder into the darkness, waiting for his eyes to adjust further still. The chill creeping up his arms seemed to help him focus, but part of it was psychological, too, he was sure of it. How he’d managed to teleport out of the cozy bedroom and into the dark heart of the woods was something he’d have to figure out later; for now, the shadow rabbits’ movements caught his attention.

When the voice spoke out they’d abandoned the path entirely. They rushed the trunk of a massive tree, slipping between exposed roots and disappearing into the darkness. The tree groaned in response, but under the creak of ancient wood was a far more human voice, and as Roxas watched, a hand emerged from the shadows, pulling aside the wooden barrier. A young man began to emerge from the tree, and Roxas stumbled back and away, watching the figure materialize in front of him.

The newcomer pulled himself up and out of the gnarled roots in slow, deliberate strides. He made a show of ignoring Roxas, stretching and groaning as joints popped and clinked with the scrape of metal against metal. He was wearing armor similar to Riku’s, but his was black and red, and a domed helm hid his features from view.

The shadow rabbits poured out of the hole he’d emerged from and swarmed at his feet in writhing circles. He reached down and picked one up, petting it for a moment before letting it fall back into the shadowy mass beneath him. Satisfied that they weren’t going anywhere, the man turned his full attention to Roxas at last. With the steep angle of the tree trunk he shouldn’t have been able to walk down with such ease, but apparently gravity didn’t affect him in the slightest.

“Ah, you’ve stolen my brother’s face,” he said. “That’s a shame.”

Roxas scrambled backwards under that terrible focus, stumbling away until his back hit a tree trunk. He slid down and fumbled around for something he could use for defense, and his hand wrapped around the cool grip of a metal rod. This time he managed to keep hold of the sword when the eye at the end of the blade blinked back at him. He got to his feet and held it up in guard position, watching the stranger for any sudden movements.

The man sighed as he crossed his arms, rolling his head back to loosen his stance. “And now you’re stolen my weapon.” He stopped his advance though, affording Roxas some space and time to think.

“Who are you?” Roxas asked, but the man just laughed and shook his head. He pulled off his helmet to reveal a vaguely familiar face, but Roxas was sure he’d never met anyone with yellow eyes before. That didn’t seem like something you’d forget.

“You don’t recognize me? Che, the little witch really did do a number on you, didn’t she?” He jumped the rest of the way off of the tree and landed a few paces in front of Roxas, just out of reach of the sword. “I am Vanitas, Knight of the Shadows, and you have something that belongs to me.”

Roxas raised the sword higher, and Vanitas snorted in contempt, reaching out a hand. A silver and black blade shimmered into existence, a sword that was clearly connected in some way to the one Roxas now held. It was less complicated and more elegant, but the piercing blue eye embedded in the blade was unmistakably the same make of the one set in Roxas’. Vanitas brought it up in a salute, then swept it down to his side, sending a light wave of wind and magic rippling through the space between them. Roxas tightened his grip on the sword.

“You know, the witch never let me close to any of her creations,” Vanitas said with casual ease as he began to stalk forward again. “Too afraid that I’d destroy all that hard work. But I don’t want to break her toys; I’m just curious. I want to see how things go together and how they run. Is it clockwork and mechanical under all those spells? Or is it flesh and bone?”

Roxas tensed, waiting for Vanitas to strike, but the attack came from below. The shadow rabbits swarmed up out of the ground and slithered around his limbs, weighing him down and pulling him off balance so that he fell to the earth with a heavy thud. They circled his wrists, ankles, and waist, tethering him to the ground as Vanitas strode over to stand above him.

“Shall we pick you apart and see what makes you tick?” He kicked the sword out of Roxas’ hand, then towered above him, dragging the silver blade across Roxas’ stomach and stopping above his heart. Roxas flinched at the stinging cut, knowing the cloth and skin had been broken and hoping nothing _else_ had been severed. He could feel the magic Axel had given him stretching out until it felt like a tense cord running the length of his body, humming just beneath the surface if his skin.

Vanitas tapped his chin in thought, then raised his sword. He jabbed down in a powerful thrust, the blade hissing into the dirt mere inches from Roxas’ face. Roxas let out a terrified shout and strained at the shadowy bindings again which seemed to amuse Vanitas he knelt over him, examining the skin he’d exposed. He ran a finger along the shallow cut and came away with blood, which he licked off with a thoughtful hum.

“You even _taste_ human, how did she manage that?” When Roxas struggled again, Vanitas moved one hand to grasp his neck, keeping him still, while the other hand dipped back to the shallow cut over his chest. Roxas could feel the magic within him reacting to Vanitas’ touch, tension building, and Vanitas gave him a nightmarish grin as he felt the increased rhythm of Roxas’ heart. Then he curled a finger in the air above Roxas’ chest, tugging, and Roxas gasped in pain as he felt the invisible cord of magic tighten around him.

Vanitas tilted his head, curious. “Hmm…. I’m no spellweaver witch, but something tells me that this doesn’t belong.”

He reached down and made the pulling motion again. Roxas felt a snap as something broke and he tasted blood. But a frantic check showed him that his limbs were intact, nothing out of place, even his clothes were unruffled by the movement, and for a moment he wondered if whatever Vanitas had done had failed. He struggled again and the hand at his throat tightened.

“Enough,” Vanitas said, irritated. “Settle down or I’ll snap all your strings.” Then he pulled again, high enough this time that Roxas could see a thin, gossamer thread of red magic falling apart as it came away..

It turned black under his touch and crumbled, fading into nothing. Like that, the feeling of _Axel_ was gone.

Vanitas sat back on his haunches, looking smug. “That’s _much_ better, don’t you think?”

Roxas bit back bile in his throat, unable to reply. With Axel’s magic gone, he could feel the cold numbness rush up his arm, and although he couldn’t turn his head, he knew that he was starting to fade again. Vanita watched him, curious, and tapped his chin in thought. Was he _really_ going to sit there and watch Roxas disappear?

“You know, by all rights I should just destroy you and take back what’s mine,” Vanitas said at last, although he made no move to attack. He scrunched up his nose, as though disgusted by what he saw. “But you’re so weak it would be pointless to take back that magic, and besides that you’ve _corrupted_ it with humanity. I don’t want to risk any of that polluting my power.”

“So let me go and I’ll get out of your hair,” Roxas hissed through gritted teeth, trying to flex fingers that he could not longer feel.

Vanitas barked out a laugh and reached into the swarming shadows surrounding Roxas’ middle. When he pulled back his hand, one of the little rabbit creatures twisted in his grasp, making angry squeaks as it struggled to get free. Vanitas shushed it, patting its head in an almost tender fashion until it settled, and he looked down at Roxas.

“It does seem like a waste to just let you fall apart, though,” he said, voice casual. “After all, my dearest cousin went to such lengths to commission you, and my brother took the time to complete the binding, I suppose I can do my part, too. You’re a family pet project, as it were, and it’d be remiss for me to leave you like this.”

He dropped the rabbit on Roxas’ chest without warning, and he felt the pricks of its claws against his skin as it scrambled to stand. Then it bit him, right above his heart, and melted, fanning out across and under his skin like molten metal.

Roxas screamed, pain sharp as he felt the magic burrow into him. He arched up, then crumpled to his side, curling in on himself and clawing at the writhing weight of the shadows just below the surface of his skin. Then a breath, two, and the feeling of the magic began to disperse, spreading along his limbs and numbing the pain. He panted through the sensation, tears flowing down his face even as Vanitas rolled back on his heels and stepped away.

He felt heavy and dull all at once, and it took him a moment to realize that the other rabbits had vanished, no doubt feeding the spell when the other sank into his heart. He sat up, slow and careful, and looked down at the bite mark. The skin was unbroken, and Vanitas’ long cut was gone, too, but in its place were long, black lines crossed over his heart in what looked like some sort of spiked tattoo. He pressed his fingers against it and shuddered as he felt a rush of the dark magic ripple through his body, and a cold, underlying chill. He glared up at Vanitas.

“What did you _do_ to me?” Roxas asked, voice hoarse. He could feel the magic burn within his chest, unpleasant and powerful. Vanitas laughed, flickering out of sight for a moment, only to reappear and perch on a branch above his tree trunk.

“You had too much Ven in you, so I returned you to your natural state,” he replied. “With my mark and whatever magic you don’t eat up by the end of the night, you’ll have everything you need and then some to get home. Who knows? You might even have a little extra to play with when you’re back in the mundane world. Stranger things have happened.”

Roxas blinked, not expecting that answer at all. He held the torn piece of his shirt together, trying to understand what he meant.

“You gave me magic so I could get home?”

Vanitas scowled. “You’re more like Ven than you seem if you’re stupid enough to ask questions like that.”

Roxas ignored the taunt and probed some more. “Why’re you helping me?”

“I’m not helping _you_ ,” Vanitas spat, voice cold. “You’re nothing but a useless fragment of something I outgrew long ago. I’m doing this because my brother went to such lengths to build you, and granting you this favor means he’ll be in my debt, and I take my payments in blood.”

Something about the way he said that made Roxas shiver, and he didn’t envy this Ven guy. Then again, he’d never met a ‘Ven’ before, and Vanitas had gone out of his way to bring him here to meet him. He frowned, thinking about that.

“How did you get me out of bed?” he asked, and Vanitas laughed, reaching down to pick up another of his evil bunny things.

“What are dreams but another way to wander the dark? I felt your presence, called you, and you came, simple as that. You _are_ a part of me, after all.”

Roxas wouldn’t call anything about the situation simple, but he had a feeling that was the only answer he was going to get. He sighed, rubbing at the tender mark on his chest, and shivering as he felt the ripple of darkness and cold once again.

There was no trace of Axel’s magic. Would he be able to find his way back to explain what had happened? Would Axel be able to _find_ him without the magic thread that bound them together? Was he even bound to Axel anymore, or was their contract null and void with the breaking of the magic thread? He could probably ask Vanitas, but felt that he’d just get mocked again.

He stood up, intending to head back in the direction he’d come from. He wondered if he’d be able to retrace his steps, but Vanitas was suddenly in front of him, wide grin on his face.

“I think you’ve gotten into enough trouble wandering into the dark, don’t you agree? Sit.” Roxas felt the command roll over him, and his legs buckled. He fell into a sitting heap on the ground and glared up at Vanitas, who was up on his leafy perch again. Vanitas grinned. “Not too much longer now. Can’t you feel it?”

Roxas wasn’t sure what he meant, but somehow he knew that something was coming, something that felt like it was trying to be stealthy but was too clumsy to hide its presence. Or rather, too….’solid’ was probably the most polite way to describe it. Axel’s cat blinked as it trotted into the clearing, then made a beeline for Roxas’ lap as soon as he spotted it.

The wave of heat was a shock to his system, and he dug his fingers through the plush fur, soaking it in. The little beast purred and curled more comfortably into his lap, then made an unhappy ‘mreh’ noise when Axel came into view a few minutes later. The cat dissipated, taking his heat with him, but Roxas was too focused on Axel to notice.

In the short time they’d been apart, something in Axel’s manner had changed. His general getup was the same, but it almost looked like there was armor beneath his coat and weapons strapped to his sides. His hair seemed more ragged, and his horns more pronounced. Even the weird tattoos on his face seemed to have elongated a bit, arcing towards his nose. He looked wilder, somehow, and more fierce, but Roxas felt a flood of relief wash through him. Axel was here, so somehow everything would work out.

Roxas half-expected Axel to still feel his presence despite Vanitas’ meddling with the spell, but Axel didn’t even glance in his direction. His attention was strictly on finding Vanitas, scanning the area with a look of resigned irritation and frustration. Still, he managed a sardonic smile when he spotted the knight, and he raised a hand in greeting.

“Knock knock!” he called into the trees. “It’s me, your friendly neighborhood cult recruitment agent, here with an offer---augh!”

Vanitas cut him off a rabbit to the face.

“That’s better,” Vanitas cackled. Axel swore as he pulled the shadow bunny thing off, which only seemed to amuse Vanitas more. When he was finally clear of the little monster, Axel glared up into the trees again. Vanitas made shooing motion. “You’re late, cretin. Come collect your toy and go.”

“Hello to you too,” Axel muttered as he crossed into the clearing, walking carefully around the rabbit things still hopping through the shadows. Then his gaze followed Vanitas’ gesture and he froze. “ _Roxas?”_

Vanitas cackled again, this time from the shadows right behind Roxas. He reached down to haul him up by the back of his shirt, then pushed him in Axel’s direction. Roxas stumbled over one of the damn shadow beasts, but managed to catch himself before he fell into Axel completely. Axel blinked down at him, then looked over at Vanitas again.

“Run home to your master and tell him the next time he sends another slave to try to win me over, I’ll personally cut off his balls.” Vanitas said, dismissing them both.

Axel snorted. “Honestly I would love to see that--”

“But I’ll start with _yours_.”

“Fine, fine, I get the idea.” Axel held up his hands in defeat. “But you know I’ve gotta do the drill; boss wants to recruit you, join him for ultimate power, together you can take over the kingdom, yada yada yada. Still no? Cool. I’ll catch you next time then. Can you walk?” This was asked of Roxas, who belatedly realized he’d been cozying up against Axel, trying to absorb as much heat as possible. Axel frowned as he gave him a once over, his lips tightening as he saw the cut shirt and bruised skin. He scowled over at Vanitas.

“What the hell did you do to him?” He pulled off his outer layer of robes and all but stuffed Roxas into it. Roxas instantly felt better as the residual body heat thawed out more of his shadow-numbed skin. Vanitas sniffed, reaching into the bushes to pick up the sword Roxas had ‘stolen’, brushing it off before it disappeared into the shadows.

“Oh, did you mark your territory?” he asked. “So sorry, I didn’t notice, but then, everything you do is pathetic.”

“He broke part of your spell,” Roxas supplied through chattering teeth. Seriously, when had it gotten so _cold?_ “I can’t feel your magic anymore.”

“And you’re welcome for that,” Vanitas laughed. “You’ve come away better for it, trust me. You’ll thank me later.”

“Let’s get out of here,” Axel pressed. He started moving Roxas away from the clearing, but a thought held him in place. He dug in his heels and turned to look up at Vanitas.

“How did you pull me here?” he asked, and Vanitas shrugged, unhelpful.

“The shadows are everywhere, connecting to everything. It’s just a matter of figuring out where they intersect.”  He stared down at them, a grin pulling his smile into something with more teeth than was friendly. “Going to try out my gift already? May it serve you better than any trifling left to you by my brother or _that_ buffoon.”

“I don’t understand what that means,” Roxas admitted, but at the same time,  it made a certain kind of sense. “But I think I get it. Just walk towards what I want, right?”

“That’s generally the only way you reach a destination,” Vanitas agreed. He sighed and turned to go. “Anyway, get out of here, I have things to do. Oh, but one last bit of advice-- Don’t get too attached, errand boy,” Vanitas advised. He walked into the shadows and was gone, although his voice lingered long enough for a final retort. “Remember what happened the last time you went chasing after a blond.”

“Yeah, well! Smudge ate three of your rabbits on the way over here!” was Axel’s retort, but they were well and truly alone. He muttered something rude under his breath, then turned back to Roxas. “Let’s get outta here.”

“Smudge?”

“My cat.”

“Hm,” Roxas said, but his mind was already moving on to what Vanitas had said. “Have you used the shadows to cut down on travel time?”

“Do you really think I would’ve carried you all that way if I could?”

“Fair point.”

They headed off in the general direction from where they’d come. Roxas followed Vanitas’ advice and thought about the cozy bed he’d left behind, and the dark shadows within the room. Maybe he was preoccupied with everything that had happened, or maybe he sort-of figured out the trick, but somehow they ended up getting back in no time at all. Riku met them at the door, surprised to see Roxas with Axel, but he let them pass without incident. Naminé was nowhere to be seen, so they headed back up to the room where Roxas had fallen asleep.

Axel sat on the bed with a heavy sigh, then patted the spot beside him. “Have a seat.” It wasn’t quite an order, but Roxas followed him all the same. Axel was very warm, after all, and he was still very, very cold. He sat down and tried not to be too obvious about leaning in for heat.

“You gave me a scare there, buddy,” Axel said, then gestured to the robe. “Is there anything under that need immediate attention, or can it wait til Naminé is free? You probably still need sleep,” he added as an afterthought.

“He pulled out a string of magic and it felt like something snapped,” Roxas said, opening the robe a little to look at the strange mark over his heart. “Then he used one of his rabbits to do this.”

“Does it hurt?” Axel asked, leaning in to take a closer look. Roxas flushed at the light brush of fingers over the darkened lines, resisting the urge to wrap himself around Axel’s arm. The heat was fantastic, but more than that, he wanted something solid to hold onto. He hadn’t realized what a comfort the presence of Axel’s lingering magic had become until it was gone.

“When it first bit me, yeah,” Roxas admitted. “Now I’m just cold.” Axel snorted, sitting back.

“Probably the busted shirt. There might be something around here you can wear, lemme go--” He made as if to move off the bed, but Roxas’ hand shot out of its own accord and held him in place. Axel’s eyebrows lifted in surprise as Roxas tugged him back to sit beside him.

“Is the contract still in place? Can you still feel the connection between us?” Roxas asked, holding on to Axel’s hand. He thought it might be; touching Axel’s skin seemed to intensify the hum of his magic, and the chill in the room subsided. Vanitas hadn’t managed a _complete_ removal, then.

Axel frowned. “Well, yeah, I mean--”

“Is it strong?”

“I mean, it’s still there, underneath the new spell. It’s not as strong as it was, but--”

“I want to make it stronger,” Roxas interrupted again, and he tightened his grip. Axel blinked, processing that for a moment before responding.

“I’m not sure my blood is powerful enough to override a Fae lord’s sigil--”

“I’m not talking about _blood_ ,” Roxas said, then used his grip on Axel’s shirt to pull him down into a kiss. Since he’d caught him mid-sentence, Roxas was able to slip his tongue inside Axel’s mouth, climbing into the redhead’s lap and pressing against his chest to emphasize the point.

When Axel didn’t move, Roxas slowly pulled back, trying to gauge the lack of reaction. Axel closed his mouth into a thin line and just looked at him, tilting his head to the side in thought. Roxas flushed but didn’t back down, and Axel didn’t move him.

“I still owe you a bargain, right? If Vanitas’ spell somehow messed up yours, isn’t it better to be sure?” he asked when Axel still didn’t say anything.

Had he been reading everything completely wrong? It would be embarrassing, but Axel said the contract was still in place, so that probably meant he’d still wanted his help. He could live with a few awkward hours of mortification and disappointment if it came to that.

“I mean, it’s still there,” Axel replied after a pause. “It’s more of an intention-based spell anyway, so if there’s even a little bit of a connection, it’s enough.”

That wasn’t really answering the question Roxas _really_ wanted to ask. Given his position he thought he felt a rising interest (heh), but he really wanted to get a better idea of where they stood before he tried anything further. He didn’t have experience in this part, but he’d thought they’d had _something_ going.

“Was anything that happened earlier today, the flirting, the hauling me halfway across god-knows where to keep me safe-- was any of that real?” he asked, embarrassed, but he had to know, damn it. “Or were you just saying stuff you thought I wanted to hear to make me come quietly? Are you actually interested in me?”

“Something tells me you wouldn’t come quietly,” Axel quipped,then immediately bit his lip and sighed, closing his eyes. He took a moment to carefully choose his next words. “I definitely wanted to make it easier to get back to camp, but you made it fun?”

He opened his eyes again, and there was a faint flush of pink on his cheeks. Even his tattoos seemed brighter. He gave Roxas a lopsided grin. “And, as Vanitas so inelegantly put it, I have a thing for blonds.”

“I’m not complaining, I’m asking,” Roxas said, feeling a little more confident.

Axel shrugged, neither a yes or a no. “I’m not used to people actually taking me seriously, but I don’t generally say stuff I don’t mean. You’re cute. I didn’t go out looking for a good time but today was fun, despite the whole near-death experience and my looming chastisement with my boss. I’m not sure what else you want me to say?”

That last bit came out more as a question than a statement, but it felt sincere enough. It was true, Axel hadn’t lied to him about anything so far -- and wasn’t there a folklore thing about Fae not being able to lie? More importantly, while they’d been talking he’d wrapped his hand around Roxas’, holding it gently between them. Roxas considered his next words carefully, knowing it might be easy to misinterpret _why_ he’d been asking.

“I’m afraid that if I go to sleep I’ll literally drift off again and I won’t be able to find my way back,” Roxas admitted. “Your spell made me feel grounded. Warm. _Safe_ . Riku said that there were other spells you could cast to strengthen what we had, and Naminé said that your spells work on trust. Despite this being the weirdest and most surreal day of my entire life, it wasn’t the _worst_ day I’ve had because you were there with me. I trust you.”

Axel let out a bark of laughter, sharp and bitter and surprised. “You barely know me,” he said. “What if I’d just been buttering you up to have my wicked way with you when you had nowhere else to go?”

Now it was Roxas’ turn to laugh. “I mean… wouldn’t that mean we’d _both_ be getting what we wanted?”

“Ha! I guess that’s true,” Axel said, “but y’know, it’s usually the fae working hard to seduce the humans, not the other way around.”

Roxas was pleased to see that Axel was now as flushed as he felt, and scooted forward a little more to prove a point. Axel drew in a sharp breath and his hand tensed around Roxas’ for a second before he caught himself. Roxas smirked.

“So that’s a yes, right? I need a clear yes to do this,” Roxas parroted back Axel’s own words, and this earned him a small, more genuine smile.

“Yes, I’d like to very much like, but…” His eyes flickered down to the sigil on Roxas’ chest again. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

Roxas snorted and leaned in, basking in the heat now that there was more implicit permission. But he didn’t want to move too fast, so he held settled for finding the edges of Axel’s shirt to slip his hands underneath.

“You’re not gonna break me,” he said instead. “And it’s not like it’d be my first time.”

“It’s probably your first time over here, though, and magic can make stuff weird,” Axel replied, but he moved his hands at last, lightly settling them on Roxas’ hips.

“The whole situation is weird,” Roxas replied, then sighed, sitting back a little so that Axel’s hands slipped up under his shirt. How was he so damn warm? And if they were both interested, why was it _taking so damn long_?

“Look,” he said, intent on getting down to business. “if we’d met back home and if you’d flirted with me half as much as you have tonight, I would’ve gone home with your number, maybe gone home with you, depending on how the evening went. Don’t think that the situation is the only reason I’m asking for this. I mean, it’s part of it, yeah, but I’m also a _carpe momento_ kind of guy, so...”

“Yeah, but.. The point is you probably don’t even need my help to get across,” Axel pressed. “You’re like… super charged. Sigils are high magic, and he might be an unhinged shithead, but Van is powerful. There’s a reason I keep getting sent back to try to recruit the guy.”

“So let's have some fun tonight,” Roxas replied, “and when I get home, you can use whatever magic I have left over to do… whatever it is you want to do in the real world.”

“Look…the type of magic you’re asking for is, like, _soul binding,”_ Axel said, his finger drumming nervously against Roxas’ sides. “The blood thing was a bond formed from a mutual accord. The only spell for sex magic that I know is like… forcing my will onto you, basically controlling you until I release you or the initial charge wears off.”

“Would you hold that over me?” Roxas asked, trying to imagine what that might be like. Would he even be conscious while under a spell like that? Or would he be wandering around like a zombie, following Axel’s orders? “Like, would you make me do something completely against my will? I mean, I’ve already agreed to summon you on the other side, I’m not sure what else you’d want to ask of me that I wouldn’t agree to anyway.”

Axel sighed, shaking his head hard enough that the beaded braid clacked against horn. “My point is that it wouldn’t _be_ against your will because you wouldn’t _have_ any will-- or rather, you won’t be able to come up with any complaints that go against what I want you to do. That kind of magic, it doesn’t sit right with me.”

“But--”

“I’m not saying _no,_ ” Axel said, cutting off his complaint. “I’m just saying that the spell isn’t necessary.”

“So…wait.” Roxas paused, thinking that over. “You’re willing to have sex, but we skip the magic bit?”

“Maybe not _all_ magic,” Axel said, his fingers heating up as the trailed over Roxas’ skin. He leaned down to press a light kiss against the corner of Roxas’ mouth, then kept moving to murmur into his ear. “And I seem to remember something about you saying my name under circumstances very similar to this.”

“Axel,” Roxas sighed, pulling his head back so he could kiss him properly. “ _Shut up.”_

Roxas knew there’d be a point in the morning when he’d have to make the most embarrassing apology of his life to Naminé and Riku, but Axel was right about one thing: Roxas didn’t come quietly. But then, neither did Axel.

At least he was _finally_ warm again.


	9. Chapter 9

Roxas woke to an empty bed sometime in the night, although he heard the quiet murmur of voices down the hall. He managed a bleary-eyed look out the window but it was still dark, no sign of dawn, which probably meant he could catch a few more hours of sleep. He was so damn _tired_. A good kind of tired, yeah, but there was absolutely no reason for him to be awake, or for anyone to get out of bed.

He dozed off again, only to wake again when he vaguely registered the quiet sounds of shifting clothing. When the bed dipped with extra weight, he rolled over and draped himself against the warm body to pin it place. There was a mild grunt of surprise but no complaint or attempt to move him, so Roxas quickly fell back into sleep.

The sky was still dark the next time he woke up, but he felt far more refreshed. Hayner shifted in the bed beside him, and for a moment, he considered slipping out from under the covers so he could call dibs on the first shower. In his experience, his friend took _forever_ and used up all the hot water, and he should probably get home before it was too long so that his folks wouldn’t start to worry. He didn’t remember planning to hang out, let alone spending the night, but it was still vacation and Hayner could be persuasive. It’d probably been too late for him to go home, and, as it often did, one thing had lead to another.

The fat cat trying to sleep on his face made an angry yowling noise before disappearing when he tried scooting it farther from his face. A soft, deep sigh from behind him was the only warning he got before an arm fell over his side and pulled him back against hot, naked flesh that tingled pleasantly where they made contact.

That woke him up. Suddenly he remembered _exactly_ where he was and what had kept him up so late, and that Hayner didn’t even _have_ a cat because he was allergic. Axel sighed again, heat flooding the back of his neck, and Roxas froze, wondering if there was some way he could sink through the mattress and out of the house and not have to deal with talking to Axel, Naminé, or Riku. Now would be a _great_ time to use Vanitas’ shadowy escape plan.

It wasn’t that he regretted the night-- far from it-- but part of him felt guilty that he hadn’t asked Axel to take him back to the border immediately instead of returning to Naminé’s home. They’d made it to the hunter’s camp in a couple of hours, so why should it take longer to get back? Especially with… whatever it was Vanitas had done.

He should’ve insisted that they press forward instead of tarrying, no matter how enjoyable the evening had been. He needed to make sure his friends were ok, that they hadn’t come looking for him when he didn’t reply to their messages. He needed to go home and see if he really _had_ been living a lie, and if he didn’t actually have parents, what other comfortable lies had he believed?

But no, he’d decided to fool around and have some fun, let himself get _attached_ to this crazy place that felt like home, filled with strangers who felt like family, or at the very least, familiar. He’d thrown himself at the super attractive guy and thrown caution to the wind, and now he’d have to deal with whatever consequences came of that.

To be fair, it wasn’t as simple as saying he’d just been thinking with his dick. Axel was good looking, yeah, but part of him also knew that the night before had been a delay tactic, too. He was dreading what he’d find when he got back home. The apartment would be empty-- a totally normal occurrence, given how many work trips his parents took-- but… now he _knew_ it would be empty.

If he looked in their room, what would he find? Did they even _have_ a room, or had he always assumed they did because the spells made him think they were there? Would there still be family pictures on the wall, and what would they show if they were there? It was easier _not_ to question these things and distract himself with this strange and unexpected holiday in Faerie land, enjoying the ‘company’ of his traveling companion.

As if he could read Roxas’ thoughts, Axel stirred against him, using a leg to pull him closer still as he nuzzled the back of Roxas’ neck. Roxas felt the rumble of laughter and light kisses on his skin as Axel murmured, “I know you’re awake, I can feel your heartbeat.”

Roxas tried to ignore the pleasant tingles that shot through him and caught himself before he let out a moan. He wasn’t that wanton, for god’s sake, even if his body was clearly considering another round. Stupid hormones and stupid sexy strange men.

“It’s still dark out,” he observed instead, forcing himself to keep his voice an even, disinterested tone. He wasn’t really sure what else to say. It was always a little awkward the morning after, but usually it was Hayner, and at least he _knew_ Hayner. He wasn’t sure what the etiquette was for what was in all intents and purposes a one night stand with a guy who wasn’t even human. Especially when said guy didn’t seem that interested in letting him go just yet-- Roxas could feel _that_ much, pressed together as close as they were.

Axel slid his hand down to brush fingers against Roxas’ stomach. “Mm, will be for a while yet. Boss likes to keep the Hunt atmospheric, says it keeps his prey on their toes. I think he gets off on the taste of terror.”

Roxas shivered at that image, remembering the roasting meats and smells of the camp. “I’m glad you waited until after we left camp to tell me that,” he admitted, then shivered again and caught Axel’s hand as it slipped lower. “We shouldn’t,” he protested. “We need to get going. I need to go home.”

“Another hour won’t make a difference,” Axel said, but he didn’t move, waiting. Roxas wasn’t cold anymore, but the steady heat at his back made him loathe to leave. Axel pressed another light kiss on the back of his neck, his fingers beginning to move again in light staccato taps that brought goosebumps to the surface when the heat disappeared.

“Or… you could stay, if you really wanted. Get to know Naminé and where you’re really from.”

Roxas turned at that, rolling over and sitting up to get a good look at him. Axel lay sprawled on the mattress, his hair even wilder after the night’s activities. One of his plaits was looking a little worse for wear and would probably need to be rebraided, and there were light bruises scattered across his chest, shoulders, and neck. There’d be little doubt of their origins, although Axel’s armor and clothes would probably hide most of it. But he lacked the wildness Roxas had seen that night in Vanitas' clearing, and even the tattoos seemed more subdued in the soft bedroom light. Axel looked well sated, content, and absolutely serious.

“I’m _from_ Twilight Town,” he said. “Even if I was created in this place, I have no memories of it. My home is back in town-- why would I want to stay here?” he asked. Maybe it came out sounding a little harsh, but he was genuinely confused. “Are you worried that I won’t be able to get through? Is there something you’re not telling me?”

“What? No! I just thought you might wanna see this place in the sunlight. It’s not all that bad when the Hunt’s not in session.“

Roxas almost believed him, except that Axel wasn’t looking at him, not directly.  Axel’s brows lowered for the briefest of instants before smoothing out again, but he didn’t expand upon his thoughts. Roxas sighed, and tried to fix some of the damage.

“Look, last night was a lot of fun, but I have a life back home. I have friends, I have classes, I have a part time job! What would I do here? I keep getting told I was never supposed to exist, and that’s hardly going to convince me to stick around.” He felt the slight shift of magic in the air and put a hand over his heart and Vanitas’ sigil. His fingers came back cold. He dropped his hand into Axel’s, curling numbed fingers around warm skin.

“And this place might be interesting, but it also terrifies me. If I stayed here with you, what would I do once you got bored with me? Your boss already told you to kill me, I don’t think he’d be very happy to see me tagging along with you on your missions. Not to mention your friend warned you that I could get you killed.”

“You’re stronger than you think,” Axel said. His free hand reached up to brush fingers across the sigil, and this time it wasn’t the light rush of cold that made Roxas shiver. Axel dropped his hand back down and sighed. “I think you underestimate how many of us start out with less than what you have. I bet if push came to shove, you’d surprise yourself.”

Roxas laughed and leaned down to steal a quick kiss before sitting back up. “If I stay here, I can’t hold up my end of the bargain. I promised you I’d summon you once I got back home so you could go forth and wreak havoc on the world, and I wouldn’t want to deprive you of that. Besides, I always keep my promises.”

Axel tugged him down for a kiss, a languid affair of lips and tongue and light nips of teeth. When he let go, Roxas lay half draped on top of him, all efforts of modesty thrown to the wayside.

“Fine,” Axel relented, and made to get out of bed. “Be responsible.”

Roxas pushed him back down against the mattress, leaning down for another kiss. “What’s the rush? I thought you said we had another hour.”

\- - -

Food was ready and waiting for them when they finally dressed and made their way downstairs, and while Riku didn’t say anything, he wore an expression that reminded Roxas of Seifer after a particularly low score in a Struggle match. Naminé just smiled sweetly at them as she gestured to the large pot on the stove.

“Breakfast! Eat up, you’re going to need all your energy for this last trek.”

“We’re basically heading the same way we came, right?” Roxas asked, dutifully taking a bowl and helping himself to a portion. Axel shrugged, mouth already full, but gestured with his hand to indicate ‘more or less, yes.’ Roxas made a mental note to walk in front of Axel on the way back so he could focus clearly on the mansion and not get distracted by wandering eyes.

Naminé shooed them to the table to eat, then returned to her work at the counter. She’d been filling a basket with things pulled from the pantry, checking over a list and darting up the stairs to grab some forgotten item. Roxas was kind of surprised Riku hadn’t volunteered to fetch the items for her, but the sullen knight had apparently taken it upon himself to guard them while they ate.

“Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed,” Axel teased between bites. “Rough night?”

Riku scowled and wouldn’t look either of them in the eye, although his cheeks flushed slightly under Axel’s scrutiny. Roxas kicked Axel under the table and tried to keep his own blush from getting the better of him.

“Sorry about.. Uh… sorry,” he said, not quite able to finish that sentence, and Riku winced, the flush growing darker. Roxas stared into his bowl and decided now would be a good time to take a large bite of food before he said anything else stupid. This was worse than the time Hayner’s mom walked in on them getting handsy on the couch. Naminé giggled and closed the basket.

“It’s fine, Roxas,” she assured him, then turned to Riku, hands on her hips. “Do you think we should include the lanterns, just in case?”

“Better not to risk anything that can be seen and track by the hounds,” Axel interrupted. “It’ll be easier to make our way back in the dark.” He stretched and stood up, poking a finger into the basket to peek inside. “That’s a whole lotta stuff you’ve got in there,” he commented, backing off when she slapped his hand away.

“I’m not exactly sure what I’ll need, or how much,” she said, taking out her list to scan it once more. “It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“What you’ll need?” Roxas asked, but stayed where he was, mindful of Riku’s irritated stare. “Are you coming with us?”

“I have an appointment with someone in a location that’s in the same direction you’re going,” she explained, the gestured to the corner. Riku obediently walked over and retrieved a well-worn staff and handed it over to her. “We’re accompanying you part of the way.”

“We?”

“I’m not leaving Naminé’s side,” Riku said. He crossed his arms and scowled at Roxas, straightening his back just enough that he could look down his nose at him. “Axel will be distracted enough as it is with you around, I’m not risking her safety to some lust-addled halfwit.”

“What Riku means to say is that I don’t like wandering the woods on my own without extra protection, so he’ll stay by my side to help keep me safe when we all part ways.” Naminé patted his shoulder, which seemed to ease out some of the tension.

Roxas considered that for a moment. It was plausible, sure-- a magician had to make a living, probably, even if she lived in hiding out in the middle of the woods. She very well might be meeting someone on the way, and them going in the same direction was just a happy coincidence. On the other hand, he remembered Axel’s out-of-the-blue suggestion, and murmurs of conversations in the night, and part of him wasn’t convinced.

“You’re not coming along because you anticipate a problem with me getting through the barrier?” he asked, and saw Axel flinch while Riku flattened his expression into something more neutral. Naminé shook her head.

“I’ll give you a checkup before we part ways if it will put your mind at ease, but I can already tell that you should be fine. Your spells and magic are altered, but intact.” She patted the basket as though it explained everything. “I really do have a meeting with a potential client. We’re just coming along with you for the company, and there’s always more safety in numbers.”

On the one hand, he’d hoped that he’d be able to talk more to Axel on their way towards the gate. He wanted to know more about him, what his story was and how he’d gotten tangled up with Xemnas’ lot. He wanted to ask about Smudge and the fire magic, if it was something he’d always had, or something he’d developed with practice. He especially wanted to ask about how he’d done that _thing_ with his tongue and if they’d have a chance to get reacquainted once Axel came to his side of the veil, but with Naminé and Riku tagging along, there probably wouldn’t be a good time to bring it up.

On the other hand, it was reassuring to know that they wouldn’t have to say their goodbyes just yet. He had things he wanted to ask her, but he hadn’t figured out how to articulate the questions yet. Maybe he could gather his thoughts before they parted ways. It was probably for the best that they traveled together, although he still wasn’t clear on why they wanted to come along with them.

“But you’re a witch, right? Can’t you just use magic to protect yourself?” Roxas asked, watching Riku heft the large basket off the counter without effort, then swung it over his shoulders like a backpack. Naminé walked over to the door to grab a shawl and wrapped it around her shoulders, the gossamer wings flitting in a short burst to let the fabric fall more comfortably between them. Naminé turned to Roxas and smiled.

“My magic is more focused on creation than protection,” she explained, then ushered them through the door. She laid a hand on the door, closed her eyes, and a moment later the door fell away and into her hand like a sheet of paper. She tucked this into a sleeve, then smiled. “While I incorporate protective sigils into my work, it’s better to leave defensive things to an expert.”

Roxas looked askance at Riku, narrowing his eyes. “You seem more offensive to me,” he said, and bit back a grin when Riku glowered at him.

“Sometimes it’s best to strike down a threat before it causes you harm,” Riku replied, and Roxas noted that he had his sword by his side, still easily accessible, despite the basket. “My abilities work best when protecting something important.”

“How do you know? What your magic is supposed to do?” Roxas asked, and apparently something in the way he asked had the three of them turning to stare back at him.

He crossed his arms and looked down, and tried not to shiver as the movement brushed the borrowed shirt against Vanitas’ mark. He must’ve shown some sort of reaction though, because suddenly Naminé was at his side, reaching down to take his hand in hers. Her magic was cool, like Vanitas’, but gentler.

“The magic that went into your creation was benign, meant only to bring your form to life,” she said. “There are active spells beneath the surface to keep you safe and grounded, but you weren’t designed to wield magic. I mean, you can absorb it to some extent, but for the most part you shouldn’t be able to retain enough to cast a simple spell.”

“But Vanitas…” he said, and gestured to his chest. She cut her eyes over to Riku, briefly, before focusing back on him again. She patted his arm.

“As far as I can tell, he just recharged what was already there,” she reassured him. “You might be a bit more sensitive to things, less, ah, _inhibited_ by any reservations you might normally have, but you’re still you.”

“You’re basically a sloppy drunk who can’t hold his magic, which is probably what made you stupid enough to jump into bed with _that,_ ” Riku supplied, nodding in Axel’s direction. Axel just shrugged and chose to ignore the snipe, but Naminé gave him an irritated look. He sighed, and expanded his snide comment. “You were built with a low tolerance because you were created for a place that doesn’t have much in the way of active magic. You don’t have to worry about dealing with excess energy because you weren’t built to hold onto it.”

“But with all of this extra power, what’s gonna happen?” Roxas asked, feeling his heartbeat begin to pick up as he thought about it. What if Vanitas did more than ‘recharge’ him? Those shadow rabbit things had sunken into him as some sort of spell. What if they escaped when he got back to the mansion’s courtyard?What if he got home and accidentally hurt his friends?

“Most of it will probably slough off when you walk through the barrier,” Naminé reassured him. “And once you get back into your normal routines, whatever’s left over will probably dissipate. It’s perfectly safe. Things will be back to normal in no time.”

“ _Will they?_ ”

“What’s eating you?” Axel spoke up at last. No doubt he meant to prevent Roxas from saying anything he might regret later, so Roxas probably should’ve been more appreciative. But everyone was so relaxed, so _blasé_ about his life being completely out of whack, and there was no way things would ever be normal again. Not after tonight.

“What’s wrong, Roxas?” Naminé asked, a little gentler than Axel. She seemed to somehow sense his discomfort, and glanced at Axel, briefly, before turning her concerned expression back on him. “Are you uncomfortable? I might have something that would help with… that would help.”

He flushed, but shook his head. “I feel fine,” he assured her. “I just…” he trailed off, not really sure how to proceed, but she seemed to understand. She stood and gently grabbed his wrist to lead him away from the other two. Riku stepped forward to protest, but she shook her head.

“Give us a few minutes,” she said, and they subsided as Naminé lead Roxas further up the path so they could have some privacy.

“I’m scared,” he admitted when they stopped at last. “What happens when I go home?”

“You go back to life as normal,” she said. She slid her grip down so she could hold his hand in hers, and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Nothing’s changed.”

“But my parents--” he started, and she patted his hand when he choked on the sentence, unable to continue.

“You’re not alone,” she assured him. “You have friends, you have a life to live. You have a place where you belong.”

He couldn’t bring himself to look at her. He _wanted_ to believe, desperately clung to that thought that everything would feel normal when he got back, but he wasn’t sure how it _could_ be, not after tonight.

“What am I going to find?” he asked. “When I go home and step through my door…. Everything will be different.”

“Yes and no,” she said. She patted the place over his heart, and he felt the sigil flare in response-- not _aggressive_ , just acknowledging the light brush of magic against it. “The spell is tied to the place you call home and remains unaffected by everything that’s happened tonight. Your perspective has changed, but you’re still you. That hasn’t changed.”

He swallowed around the lump in his throat, thinking of empty bedrooms and check-in calls and emails that his parents had always been too busy to send. “I don’t know how I can go back… knowing what I know.”

The hug was unexpected, but not unwelcome. She guided his head down to her shoulder and ran fingers through the hair at the back of his head in slow, soothing circles. He forced himself to match her breathing, in and out, trying to focus on her touch and convince himself that this, at least was real. And then she began to speak, soft and unhurried, despite the fact that they were running under a deadline.

“You go back and the world is a little different, you notice different things, maybe, but…. How does the song go? You see the old familiar faces in the familiar places.” She gave him a light squeeze and he pulled away, rubbing at his eyes and trying not to ruin the borrowed clothes. Naminé smiled up at him.

“You go to school, you visit your friends, eat your favorite foods. Things go on as normal, but now you’ll see the world like you have a secret-- because you do-- and everything else sort of… falls into place.”

“What if I accidentally fall through again?” he asked, and looked back to where Axel and Riku stood waiting. They looked bored, maybe Riku was a little impatient, but neither of them reacted when Naminé held up a hand to give them a bit more time alone.

“Do you know how my magic works?” she asked, not answering his question at all. But a lot of people over here seemed to answer questions with more questions, trying to make him come up with his own conclusions. He shrugged, trying to think back on what he’s seen at her home and what she’d described last night.

“No? I mean, I guess you take magical stuff and like.. Draw sigils on it and stuff to make it stick together. You have a studio, so it seems like it’s sort of like art?” he suggested, which seemed to please her.

“That’s a great analogy!” she said, and clasped her hands together. “Part of what I do does involve sculpture and illustration, but that’s the mechanical aspect of things. What makes things work-- what keeps us together, people born and created on this side of the Veil and the other are _memories_. Memories of who we are and where we came from shape who we become, and part of the spellwork itself is experience.”

He considered that, and considered what she’d told him the night before, about being formed from pieces of two separate people-- possibly three or four, if she had to use her own powers, and if the guy who had commissioned her to make him had gotten involved, too.

“And when you’re created from lies?” he asked, sounding as bitter as he felt.

“Not lies, more… Hm, how can I explain this….” she tapped her chin in thought, then snapped her fingers when she found the words.

“You were put in a place where the fragments of Ven’s and Van’s memories resonated-- Maybe they’d been there before, or maybe they knew someone who lived there and remembered stories of the town that left them with feelings of nostalgia and tranquility. Something about the town you live in struck a chord, so when we sent you through the Veil, you went to the place where you most belonged.”

She moved her hands as she spoke, gesturing and trying to explain as best she could.

“The town resonated with the memories inside you and called you there. Your home appeared because it _felt_ right to the spell. When people asked questions about how you got there, whatever made sense slipped into place to fill the gaps. It’s why your parents are never home, and why you spend so much time exploring the city.” She smiled. “It’s what Ven and Van would have done if they were in your shoes. Probably what they _did_ do, if they snuck across the border to have some fun.”

“So all I am is an echo of their time in my hometown?”

“You’re you. You’re a part of them, yes, and they’re a part of you,” she said, but she was smiling, trying to reassure him. “But think of how much you’ve done in the time you’ve been living there. How many memories you’ve made, your friends, the things you’ve done. Those are your experiences and no one else’s. No one can take those from you.”

The way she said it made him pause. She was a witch who worked in art and memories, crafting things with the materials at hand. She used spellwork to make things fit into place, so if she could add things, wouldn’t that mean the opposite hold true, too?

“You can, can’t you? Change my memories, make me forget whatever was convenient. Because you gave me the memories that made me think I belonged.”

“Yes and no,” she admitted. “I can enhance the spells that help you draw the connections needed to make cohesive beliefs. If we had more time, I could probably convince you that tonight never happened, despite all of the physical evidence that suggests otherwise.”

He flushed at that, knowing she meant the sigil, but wondering if maybe, just maybe, she knew about the marks he’d given and received in turn while having fun with Axel. If she did, she chose not to bring it up.

“But there’s no need to alter your memories- your heart has grown strong, finding your own life among your friends. You wouldn’t need that push to fit in now. You’ve already made sense of your life and your place in that world.”

“So my parents are always on business trips….”

“Because that’s what happens for some teens who are left unsupervised for any length of time,” she agreed. She let a small smile escape, and looked over to where the other two were waiting. “And I think you’ve already adapted to some of the perks of being home alone that many teenagers discover when given the opportunity.”

“S-sorry,” he stammered, feeling his face burn with embarrassment. She laughed, and pulled him back towards the others.

“Just be yourself, and know that you’ve come this far because you are you and no one else.”

They walked into a tense silence; apparently neither man had bothered speaking to the other while Roxas and Naminé spoke. Riku immediately went to her side while Axel sidled up beside Roxas.

“Everything good?” he asked, voice light and cheerful, although it seemed forced. Roxas gave him a small but genuine smile.

“Yeah. I think it will be.”

“We have two hours to get to the designated spot,” Riku supplied as he looked up at the sky, then turned his attention towards Roxas, mouth in a set line. “If you want to help cut down on the distance, that would be appreciated.”

“I don’t know how that worked,” Roxas admitted, and then turned to Naminé. “Vanitas said something about walking in the general direction I want to go with my destination in mind. Where are we going?”

“The ruins of the border guardhouse,” Axel said. Apparently he and Riku _had_ been speaking after all. “It’s that place where you sat with Smudge while I scouted ahead.”

“The broken down wall?” Roxas asked. “But isn’t that in the opposite direction of where we need to go? _And_ towards the hunting party?”

“Space, much like time, is relative in this place,” Axel quipped, but he frowned at Naminé, who’d started off down the road again. “Are you sure meeting him is a good idea? I mean, the whole thing was a nasty piece of work, and you’re already on the lam.”

“In no small part thanks to you, as I understand it,” she replied, but she didn’t slow her pace, nor did she seem all that angry. “It’s a simple discussion of a contract, nothing more. I haven’t agreed to any of the work yet, and he hasn’t heard my fee. He might not be able to pay it. Still, I could be swayed, and you agreed to stay and stand witness. It will be like old times -- you remember the Mouse contract, or-- hm. Was that before your time?”

_You could stay._

Roxas listened to them gossip about names he quickly forgot and places he would never see. His head was swimming with what Naminé had said, and the possibilities of what lay ahead. He was going home.

_You could stay._

That much he knew to be true. Everyone said he was going to be fine, and their confidence made him believe it-- well, it made him feel better about believing it. They agreed that he had a place on the other side, and that it was his home-- so there was no reason to keep thinking about what Axel had said.

 _You could stay_.

Maybe Axel could stay, once Roxas fulfilled his part of the bargain and summoned him over. It could work both ways, right?

He thought about that, how the magic spells in place would explain Axel’s sudden apparition, and the weird face tattoos and horns, god, what would the magic do to explain away the horns? Theater major from the local university? Aspiring thespian and prop maker? Goat enthusiast?

He was so caught up in trying to think of how he’d explain to the gang that the attractive tall man in his home was cosplaying something obscure that he didn’t realize they’d reached their destination until Axel put a hand on his shoulder to stop him from wandering off. Roxas looked up to see that they’d reached the broken wall, although the shadows were longer than they had been when they’d first visited.

Riku set down the basket on one of the crumbling stones, then sorted through until he found a blanket. This he arranged on another stone, and helped Naminé settle in and get comfortable before standing guard at her side. Axel headed over to the wall to wait, and Roxas tagged along, unsure of what else to do. Time _had_ passed, even if it was still night, and he wondered if delaying here would cause issues closer to the gate.

A noise distracted him from worrying about it too much, though, and he focused on the trees across the way. Last time, Axel had gone through there to distract duskhunds, but it was two figures who came through. One was short and had its hood up, moving like a shadow through the underbrush. All of the noise was coming from the other, taller figure, who who was lugging something behind him and crashing through plants and bushes as he fought his way closer. A branch snagged on the hood, pulling it off his face, and Roxas gasped in surprise.

“It’s that guy from camp, Demyx!” Roxas realized, and Demyx yelped, dropping his bundle, which let out a soft twang of resentment. Demyx immediately picked it up and patted the guitar down, cooing at it as he hauled it the final few feet to the clearing. His traveling companion followed behind, silent, and settled into place a few feet from Axel. Axel just nodded, apparently expecting the additional company, then focused on Demyx as he bowed low to Naminé.

“Honored lady, thank you for agreeing to meet with me,” he said, then took in the rest of the company as he straightened. He blinked, confused, when he saw Roxas in the corner with Axel.

“Oh! You’re still here, that’s uh… huh. Good?” Demyx said, sounding less than convinced and more than a little alarmed. He gave Axel a pointed look. “Are you _trying_ to get yourself killed?”

“I’m not the one making shady deals with wizards and witches,” Axel quipped, then turned to the figure beside him, hood still in place. “You’re not trying to stop him, Zee?”

‘Zee’ shrugged. “There seemed little reason when I have business with the witch as well.”

Riku stepped in front of Naminé, shielding her from view. “The agreement was one deal,” he said, although she held his arm to make him stand down.

“You know my terms,” she said, looking at Demyx. “My time for a song.”

“Oh! Right!” In a surprisingly fluid movement, he swung the guitar from out of its bundle and tucked it under one arm. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and his demeanor changed. He cradled the the instrument as he began to play, body swaying with each shift in the song. He might’ve been humming, too, but was so lost to the music and a part of it that it was impossible to separate musician from music. Demyx _was_ this song. This song _was_ Demyx. Roxas had never heard anything so beautiful.

He recognized the haunting melody the bard had been plucking away at before, but in its entirety, the music swept through him. His eyes burned, and when he went to rub them they came away wet with tears.

Roxas wasn’t the only one affected by the music. Axel kept his head bowed and eyes closed, although his expression was pained-- apparently the music meant something to him, or reminded him of some hurt in the not-too-distant past. Even Riku had relaxed, risking a glance at Naminé, who sat with a hand over her heart, eyes closed. She smiled, and the pale glow was back, her translucent wings fluttering gently in the trailing notes of the song.

The final notes lingered in the air, and the silence filled the void the music left in its wake. Roxas held his breath, waiting for what he didn’t know, but the music’s hold began to ease, and when Demyx opened his eyes to look at Naminé, he was able to breathe once again.

She took in a deep breath, opened her eyes, and then smiled at Demyx. “Thank you. Show me what you have, and I will tell you what I can do.”

Demyx set down his guitar and hurried over to her, tripping over a rock in the process and almost falling into her lap. Riku was in front of her in an instant, holding the bard at arm’s distance while he regained his footing.

“Sorry!” Demyx gulped, then reached into his coat to extract a small bag. He handled this with utmost care as he handed it to Naminé, who frowned.

“There’s not much to work with,” she said as she looked inside. She turned out the contents into her palm, and a handful of shells and broken sea glass fell out.

“It was all I managed to find after-- after what happened,” Demyx said. He didn’t look in Axel’s direction, but Roxas saw the flinch anyway.

“Why do you care? Is it really worth it?” Roxas turned his attention to Riku, but the knight was focused on Demyx again, gaze cold. “It was just a puppet, right? Why pay so much for something so easily broken?”

“That is his decision, not yours,” Zee cut in. “And we have not yet heard a price.”

“There’s not much to work with,” Naminé repeated, but her voice was thoughtful. She turned the shells and baubles in her hand, then picked one out of the collection to look at it more closely. “There aren’t a lot of pieces, but the memories bound to them are strong. Broken, but the emotions are there. The cost will still be high, however.”

“Like what?” Demyx asked, and cast a sideways glance back to his instrument. “I don’t have a lot of high value.”

Naminé smiled at him, although it was sad. “We both know that’s not true,” she said, then carefully put the items back in the bag and handed them back to him. He took it and held it over his heart, waiting as she pondered over her words.

“I could take your eyes, but blindness sometimes leads to clarity and second sight, and that’s better for smaller magics, not something like this. Your voice might do it, or your hearing, but you could still play and speak through your instrument, so the power gained from exchange would diminish over time.” She sighed, and tapped the side of her chin in thought. “For something this broken, this grand in scale, it would require the ultimate sacrifice. Are you willing to give that up?”

“He has to _die_?” Roxas asked in horror, breaking the moment. Demyx just stared at the bundle in his hands, close to tears.

“As good as,” Axel agreed, voice quiet. “What’s a musician without his music? Boss would kick him to the curb in a heartbeat, if he didn’t kill him outright.”

“I knew it would be something steep,” Demyx said, still staring at the bag. “I wouldn’t have asked you to meet me if I hadn’t been ready and willing to pay your price.”

“You sure about this?” Axel asked, and then Demyx _did_ look at him, and Axel flinched again.

“Not all of us have the luxury of bargaining chips and favors at their disposal,” he replied. “And I remember you being willing to take some pretty desperate chances, too.”

“A name,” Zee said, cutting the tension before they could come to blows. “Would a name be sufficient?”

Demyx shook his head and plucked at one of his guitar strings in a soft, sad staccato. “That won’t work,” he sighed. “I lost mine ages ago-- lifetimes, even. I don’t have to it barter with, even if it would be enough.”

“Mine, then,” Zee said, and stepped forward, pulling back his hood. It didn’t reveal much-- most of his face was still covered in unkempt bangs-- but the face was softer, more human than Roxas had expected.

Naminé tilted her head, considering. “You were in Ansem’s court,” she said, more of a statement than a question. Zee nodded anyway.

“I apprenticed under Master Vexen, and followed him to the Night Courts after the destruction of his research and consequent banishment. I serve the Night Courts, but do so of my own free will.”

“You’d give up your freedom for him?” Riku asked, voice harsh, but Zee shook his head.

“I give you my name in exchange for the completion of my apprenticeship,” he said, and stared Naminé in the eye. “My name for one hundred years and a day of service and training. My first project is that,” he said, and nodded to the bundle in Demyx’s hands.

“You think you can set such demands and then start on a Mastercraft piece?” Riku scoffed. “Such hubris.”

“You seem to function well enough, even if you speak out of place,” Zee said, then turned his attention back to Naminé. “If you remember me, you will also remember my work was considered high caliber enough to go into _that_ poppet.” He gestured towards Riku, who crossed his arms but kept his mouth shut.

“I remember,” she said, still tapping her chin in thought. She looked at Demyx. “Would these terms be agreeable to you? It’s been some time since I took on such a task, and the work would be easier with another craftsman at my side. But that changes the balance between you two, and that is no business of mine.”

Demyx turned to Zee and lead him away, speaking to him in low, urgent tones. Zee stood and listened without much comment, although when he spoke, Demyx listened. In the end, they returned to the group a few minutes later, their discussion settled.

“The terms are agreeable,” Zee agreed in a calm, detached voice, and Demyx nodded, even less enthusiastic.

“The terms are agreeable,” he said, then glared at Zee before looking at Naminé again. “But I still want to offer my assistance in the recompletion. Zexion can’t handle the whole thing on his own.”

Axel whistled and laughed, a low, humorless sound. “Boss ain’t gonna be happy about losing two men in one night,” he said. He looked over at Riku, who looked equally put out. “You gonna be able to handle all the company? A hundred years is a long time, y’know.”

“Naminé’s safety is my top priority,” he replied. “I will endure whatever that entails. Will you bear witness?”

“I’ll bear witness,” Axel repeated, stepping away from the wall at last.

“I’ll bear witness,” Demyx agreed, and tucked the bag back into his coat.

Roxas tastes the magic in his teeth as sort of a hum, like biting down on an electric toothbrush without actually trying to clean anything. Even so, he yawned to stretch the tightening of muscles in his jaw, and stepped away from the group. Vanitas’ sigil roiled beneath his skin, reacting to the magic just enough for him to be aware of it, and he took another step back to make the feeling abate.

Zee-- _Zexion_ \-- stood before Naminé, pulled off his glove, then held out his hand. “I give you my name in exchange for your tutelage, to last one hundred years and a day. We begin with the restoration of the poppet _Xion_ , the life debt of which will be paid by Demyx and at my discretion. These are the terms of the contract, witnessed by these two members of the Unseelie Courts, as well as the constructs of your making. Do you agree to these terms?”

There was a glow around the four of them, now, the spoken vows part of the magic that built layer upon layer in the air around them, stirring the light and shadows as the spell began to turn around them. Riku was the only one who remained outside of the spell, although he stood close to Naminé, unwilling to risk any harm.

Naminé got off her perch atop the rock and stood at last, clasping her hand around Zexion’s. “I agree to these terms, and will teach you the ways of my craft for one hundred years and a day. Our first work shall be the recompletion of _Xion_ , daughter of the dusk and dunes, so that she may live again.”

The air hummed with faint echoes of the song Demyx had played, working their way into the spell as Naminé spoke once again.

“Tell me, Apprentice mine. What is your name?”

Roxas felt the words ripple through the spell as Zexion-- _Ienzo_ \-- spoke. The name seemed to trail out of his mouth in a golden thread of light, slithering down to bind his hand to Naminé’s. Then the spell was done, the light dissipated, and the glow of the lingering sigil on their hands began to fade to something closer to a tattoo than a spell.

The group took a collective sigh, tension breaking. In that breath, Roxas tasted the scents on the wind that blew down the path. He almost missed it, so focused on what had just happened and how very little he actually understood about what had actually been said and done.

But the wind was blowing towards him and then beyond to the others, and it smelled like _Riku_ , except he was downwind of Roxas now, and there was something bright and sharp and distinctly magical in the air that had him turning in that direction.

The others were talking in low voices, no doubt figuring out the logistics of whatever it was they’d agreed upon, which is probably why he was the first to see the newcomers on the road. They reminded Roxas of Xemnas’ hunting party, at least at first glance. But where Xemnas’ people dressed all in black, this party dressed in primarily bright whites with colored accents. He couldn’t see that far ahead, but he could tell that they were moving at a determined pace, and  they looked armed and dangerous. Even worse, they were coming straight towards them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please bear with me while I work on the next few updates! I've got a lot of things going on atm, so updates will be a little slower. Mostly good things at this point, but it's still a lot. Thank you for sticking with me! <3


	10. Chapter 10

No one else seemed to have noticed their fast-approaching visitors. The smell of magic still hung in the air, masking the faint scent that had gotten Roxas’ attention, and the echoes of Demyx’s song and spell seemed to cling to the small ruins. They weren’t going to notice anything until it was far too late to act.

Axel still stood transfixed, his attention on the quiet discussions between new master and her apprentice. When Roxas tugged on his sleeve to snap him out of it, he turned, slow, as though the magic still pulled him to witness what was going on. Irritated, Roxas pulled harder, trying to yank him further from the group as he cast another look over his shoulder. The group hadn’t picked up their pace, but there was deliberate heading in their direction.

Axel started to protest then stilled, nostrils flaring, and his head snapped up towards the oncoming group. He cursed, took off his coat, and swathed Roxas in the thick leathers, adjusting the oversized hood to cover Roxas’ face completely.

“Don’t say anything, don’t draw attention to yourself, and don’t let any of them see your face,” Axel warned as the group grew closer. “Just don’t take off the hood. Trust me on this. _Riku, attend._ ”

Roxas felt the command in the words, but he was pretty sure that it was less of a compulsion spell and more of a warning. He heard the _shick_ of blade being drawn, and felt the group draw themselves up as they collectively became aware of the oncoming troop. With Axel standing so close, he could feel the fiery magic simmering just beneath the surface of his skin-- if one of the oncoming group attacked, they would be met with flames. Still, he struggled with the hood, deciding he’d risk a peek just so he could keep an eye on things. Afterall, _he’d_ been the one to spot the intruders first, so who knew what else they might miss.

Vanitas rode into view, or rather, someone who _looked_ like Vanitas, although his hair was brown and his eyes were a blue so bright they practically glowed in the darkness. Unlike Vanitas, this man wore plate armor embellished in reds and gold, and a ribbon of blue tied around one arm.

Beside him rode someone who had to be related to Riku in some way. The smell Roxas had picked up was coming from this knight-- although he had a few years and a lot of muscle on Naminé’s Riku. _This_ Riku rode atop a massive horse, his armor a gleaming affair of white, gold, and blue. He wore a ribbon of red that matched the brunette’s colors, and his face was set in that familiar glower as he stared down their small group.

Together, not-Vanitas and not-Riku led a small train of masked knights, doubtless bodyguards of some sort. They came to a halt a few paces out of reach, the horses stamping the ground and whickering at the group that stood in their way. For a moment, neither side spoke, and tension hung thick in the air as the faded chords of Demyx’s melody echoed around them. They didn’t draw any weapons, but they did look less than pleased to see the Unseelie group. Then, the not-Vanitas man nudged his horse forward, leaning down to pat its neck while he frowned at Axel.

“You know, I could’ve sworn I’d heard you died ages ago,” the not-Vanitas man said at last. His voice was higher pitched and almost friendly, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes, and he remained tense atop his horse. Both sides stood at attention, waiting for something to happen.

Only Axel seemed unaffected. He took it all in stride, falling into a graceful bow and effectively stepping between the intruders and their group to hide them from view. Roxas felt a hand on his shoulder and allowed Naminé to pull him back, letting Axel draw all of the attention.

“Y’know you shouldn’t believe all the gossip you hear. People seem to think that if they say something often enough it will become true,” Axel replied, and he stood up from his bow, nodding at each man in turn. “Your majesty, General. Lovely to see you again.”

“That’s because it’s often the case if someone with enough power and influence says it,” said the older Riku. “I suppose your master decided he still had need of a court jester.”

He even _sounded_ like Naminé’s knight, so there was probably a story behind it, but Roxas didn’t want to stick around to hear it. The night was long but the moon was fading, and he had places to be. He only hoped they’d be able to make it out of here in one piece.

Prince ( _King?_ ) not-Vanitas shrugged. “I’m surprised your master let you wander so far without a leash, since your kind tend to roam without proper supervision.” He looked over at Demyx and Ienzo, still dressed in their black hunting robes, and narrowed his eyes before looking back at Axel. “They don’t seem strong enough to keep you in check. Unless he _meant_ to let you wreak havoc, in which case I’d like to remind you that you’re in neutral territory.”

“We’re just passing through,” Axel promised, hands up in a gesture of peace. “We’ll be outta here in no time. But that brings up a good point-- what brings _you_ so close to the boundary? Tempted to see if the Shadow Court is all it’s cracked up to be? It’s not, by the way,” he said with another shrug. “You’re better off sticking to your sunshine and sands, if the Boss knew you were here, he would eat you alive with a smile on his face and boil your bones for broth. Damn the consequences, he’d do it because he could and he’d be within his rights, so your king couldn’t do a damn thing about it. We can’t have the crown prince end up in stew, now can we?”

Roxas shifted uncomfortably, memories of the camp smells and its feast still vivid in his mind. Naminé kept her firm grip on his shoulder, although he could feel it tighten even more as Not-Vanitas spoke. Axel was at his full height again, hands on hips, as though he’d stopped to chat with a group of old friends, but Roxas could feel the magic still simmering at the surface, and if he felt it, surely their ‘visitors’ did as well.

“As long as you keep closer to your side and stay out of mischief, we won’t have a problem,” the prince said, then he let his gaze drift over their small group before focusing on Axel again. “Normally I would believe you, but we’ve had reports of my cousin wandering this section of the woods, and I must bring him home.”

Axel snorted out a laugh and shook his head. “I wouldn’t travel with any cousin of yours, Princeling. Too bright for his own good, or too dark. Give me a good gloaming with the lingering kiss of sunset and a scattering of stars, and I’m content.”

Roxas blinked. He had no idea what a ‘gloaming’ was, but the rest of the sentence sounded almost like poetry, which didn’t seem like Axel at all. It also didn’t really make sense in the context of what the prince said, but it amused the general enough to elicit a short laugh.

“Gloom, more like, given Vanitas’ temperament,” said the general, then he grew serious again. “Our beast tracked the scent of the shadow singer to this spot. Given your master’s continued fascination and pursuit of the errant knight, not to mention your lack of participation in the Hunt, it’s easy enough to assume your master’s errand for you. We ask again: where is he?”

Axel made a big show of looking around before crossing his arms. “Well, there are plenty of shadows to choose from, but there’s no singing, not unless you want Dem to play you something,” he said, goading the general on. “Although truth be told, you’re better off with a guitar piece than an actual vocal song. He whines a _lot_ when he sings.”

“I do _not_ !” Demyx whined from where he stood. He clutched his instrument close to his chest, cradling it from view. Zexion stood beside him, a blank nd disinterested expression on his face, although he was holding a book that Roxas didn’t remember seeing before. Based on the wary glance Riku-- _Naminé’s_ Riku, not the knight-- gave him, Roxas guessed it was probably a spell book of some sort.

“Where is Vanitas?” the prince asked, patience worn thin. Roxas flinched as the sigil on his chest reacted to the name, and he clutched Axel’s cloak closer to him.

“I haven’t seen him today,” Axel replied without hesitation, which was true, he’d technically seen him earlier in the evening, but since they’d slept since then, one could argue that it had been yesterday. Fae semantics.

Not-Vanitas sighed. “We know he’s close, and that you’ve been an associate of his in the past.” The prince forced himself to relax, his face softening. “He needs to come home,” he said, and his voice was kinder, more patient. “His place is in the courts where he can learn to _properly_ control his skills. If nothing else, if not for his sake then for his brother. Ventus needs him back.”

Axel rolled his shoulders, although the movement was stiff. It also made him block Roxas even further from view. “Look, I just follow orders and remind him every so often that if he’s looking for a place to call his own, he’s got options. I honestly don’t care if he goes back to your courts or if he decides to go full Unseelie-- I just keep my head down and do what I’m told and try not to get turned into a duskhund.”

“You’re lying.” The general shifted on his horse, causing the beast to whicker and shake its head. “What are you hiding, Firebrand? Show me everything.”

Axel held up a hand as though to keep Riku from dismounting, then plucked at the ties on his tunic. “I mean, you’re not really my type, but I guess we could work something out. Gotta warn you though, I like it hot--”

“You smell like them,” Riku interrupted. A sword appeared, another giant key that gleamed in a coat of magic, and he held it out to hover a few inches from Axel’s neck. He turned his head ever so slightly towards Sora, his frown deepening. “I don’t know why, but I think the scent we’ve been following is him. It’s fresh, too, which means he’s had contact-- close contact-- probably within the last day or so if I had to guess.”

“When I said I hadn’t seen him today, I wasn’t lying,” Axel said, holding up his hands to stave off an attack. “But I promised Boss I’d talk to him, so I swung by yesterday. He told me to hit the road, wasn’t in a chatty mood.”

“Given that it’s _you_ , that’s not surprising,” Riku said, then flicked the knife’s edge against Axel’s throat, nicking it and drawing blood. “Which way did he go?”

“Old tree grove. Ruins of the fort, towards the Star Lake. Just follow the damn floods,” Axel replied, and inched away from the sword, bringing a hand up and drawing a finger along the cut. There was the faint smell of burning flesh and Axel’s finger came away to reveal a thin line of seared skin. “That fuckin’ hurt. There’s no need to be a dick.”

General Riku ignored him. He got back on his horse and turned it back towards the old road. “We’re wasting time here, we might be able to catch him if we hurry and follow the trail.”

He looked ready to go, but the prince remained behind, frowning at the group. Roxas ducked his head a little lower, praying that the royal’s gaze would pass over him.

“It’s more than that,” the prince said at last, then hopped off his own horse, walking towards the group. “Can’t you feel it? There’s more than lingering music magic here.”

“It’s just an oath of apprenticeship!” Demyx piped up again. “There’s a lot of residual stuff in this area.”

“Why do you smell like Ven?” the prince asked Axel, completely ignoring Demyx’s attempt at diversion. “There’s a bit of Van, but it’s my other cousin I smell from you, you’re _drenched_ in his magic, almost as though you’ve--”

He cut off mid sentence, and Roxas could feel the weight of his full attention. He clutched the cloak tighter against his chest, but there was a chilly trickle of magic that still managed to bleed through.

The prince was not to be deterred. He hopped off his horse and walked over to their group, stopping in front of them to take in their faces. Axel let out a hiss as the general’s blade flicked up to his throat again and forced him to take few steps back. Roxas tried to focus on the magic thread connecting him to Axel, willing Vanitas’ “gift” to settle down, but before he had a chance to see if it worked, the prince had reached out and pulled back the hood, revealing Roxas’ face.

The general sucked in his breath, but his sword never wavered from Axel’s throat. Roxas shivered at the intense focus that was suddenly upon him, the combination of gazes and intent of magic in his direction set a thread of cold fear running down his spine. Vanitas’ sigil pulsed again, sending a wave of magic out towards the prince. The man recoiled back a step, his expression grim.

“I thought it was destroyed,” not-Riku breathed at last, still holding Axel at bay. The prince didn’t say anything immediately. Instead, he turned back to the group and whistled, a high, fluttering sound with a touch of magic to strengthen it. Roxas took a step back, pulling the heated cloak closer around himself as a wave of cold swept through him. Whatever the prince had done, Vanitas’ magic didn’t like it.

He didn’t have long to wait. There was an oddly high-pitched noise that was a cross between a bark and a squeak, and a large blue-coated creature bounded between the horses and over to the prince’s side. It skidded to a halt and rubbed its face up against the prince’s leg, its short horn almost impaling the man’s thigh with its enthusiastic attempts to get petted. The prince sighed, gave it a few scratches behind the ears, then caught its head between his hands to keep it still.

“Is this who you were tracking--, no, yeah, I love you too, _focus_ Bubbles. Is this what you smelled? The construct?” He turned the creature’s face towards Roxas, and the beast licked its nose before giving a snuffled snort.

“Sora--” the general started to interrupt, but the prince held up a hand, staring at the weird monster for some response. Roxas watched it with bated breath, wondering if this monster, too, had once been human.

The creature then turned its full attention to him, then trotted over to stare up. Now that it was looking at him, Roxas could see that its pupils were heart-shaped, although they seemed to briefly change to slits when it looked at him. Then it was back to hearts and it wiggled in place, letting out that high-pitched keening noise again.

“Um, hi,” Roxas said, holding out his hand when the beast nudged his leg. ‘Bubbles’ sniffed his hand, butted him in the leg with a squeak, then collapsed, rolling over on his back to expose his stomach and wiggle his legs in the air. Roxas stared down at him, then risked a look up at the prince-- _Sora_. Sora sighed, and knelt beside the odd creature.

“He gets belly rubs after he finds his target,” Sora explained as he scratched the beast’s underbelly, then turned to his general. “Riku, what do you think? Do we even bother checking around here, or was this just a false positive?”

Riku-- the general, not Naminé’s Riku-- frowned, lowering his weapon at last. “The scent is too strong to just be coming from it,” he replied, indicating Roxas. Roxas scowled at that, but the general didn’t even seem to notice. “The magical register is strong, which makes me think that Vanitas is nearby. There’s too much to be residual echoes.”

Sora frowned at Roxas, although it didn’t really seem like he was looking at Roxas, more like _through_ him.

“We should probably take it along anyway, just to be on the safe side,” Sora agreed, hands on his hips. “May as well use it as bait, you _know_ he couldn’t resist an opportunity to snap up power that’s just laying around. We can tie it to one of the extra horses so it doesn’t wander off.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Roxas said, taking a step backwards. Axel was there at his side, a flood of heat to stave off the cold magic emanating from Vanitas’ mark. “Vanitas told me to get lost, so I’m following his advice and going home. If you have an issue with that, take it up with him. And I’m not going back to Xemnas’ camp, either.”

Roxas felt the people around him flinch at the name of the Huntmaster, and he remembered belatedly that in games about magic, names and speaking them aloud had strange consequences this side of the veil. Of course, they’d all been throwing around Vanitas’ name like it was nothing and the man had yet to appear, so maybe he was just being paranoid.

 _Of course, a little distraction would be good right about now,_ Roxas thought, remembering the strange little shadow rabbits. They probably smelled like Vanitas too, right? If a couple appeared,  the weird Bubbles creature might lead the prince and his Riku on a merry chase after them, Vanitas or no Vanitas. _Vanitas would probably find that amusing_ , and he thought he felt the sympathetic twinge of agreement as magic pulsed in his seal again.

Sora wrinkled his nose at him. “You’re telling me that you met with my cousin? The fact that you’re still in one piece suggests otherwise.” Roxas opened his mouth to argue, but Sora held up a hand, shaking his head. “And you hardly have a say in this, constructs have no rights in either kingdom. On top of that, you’re _leaking_ magic all over the place, do you have any idea of what kind of trouble you could cause if we don’t deal with you sooner than later?”

He shifted his attention past Roxas, then nodded at the rest of the group. “We should probably bring the witch, too, since the king has an outstanding warrant on her. Leave the others, we have no business with them. If they try anything, get rid of them.”

Naminé’s Riku stepped in front of her and raised his sword. General Riku scoffed, his hand back on his own weapon. He stared down at the younger version of himself, face unreadable.

“Should I get rid of _that_ , too?” he asked, nodding at the young knight. “Another poppet I thought long destroyed, and more trouble than it’s worth.”

“ _No,”_ Sora replied, his eyes softening a little as he looked at the pair. Naminé’s Riku flinched and tightened his grip on his sword, angling it so that she would be shielded from both men.

Sora looked at his general again, his voice surprisingly gentle. “It’s still a part of you, and always will be. We can take the three of them with us and let the King decide what to do. Or my cousin might meet us and relieve us of those options,” he added as an afterthought. “Vanitas always did like tearing things apart.”

Roxas flinched back another step as Sora turned back to grab him, but something in the air rippled, and the shadows around them somehow darkened, almost as though a cloud passed over the moon. It almost looked like the movements of the strange rabbits, although Roxas couldn’t feel anything of Vanitas’ magic beyond the sigil on his chest. But Sora saw it too, and suddenly his weapon was in his hand, raised in a defensive pose. A low chuckle filtered through the small grove as the shadows twisted and curled around their feet.

“The better to understand them, dear _cousin_ ,” was the whispered reply. Vanitas’ laughter echoed around them, and Bubbles was off, letting out what could only be called ‘barking’ as he chased the shifting shadows along the ground. Roxas half-expected the prince and his party to chase off after him, but the sound of Vanitas’ voice was everywhere, so there was no way of telling which way to go.

Sora turned towards the sounds, although there were few places that Vanitas could hide. The prince spun in a slow circle, trying to pin down where the voice was coming from, and even the general seemed thrown, turning his horse to check their rear position while the bodyguards fanned out in a circle around the prince.

Axel took the opportunity to pull Roxas back to his side, leaning in low to whisper, “On my mark, we move.”  

“Axel, I don’t think--” he started, but Axel pressed a finger to his lips, and pulled him further away from the prince.

That’s when he felt it, the low ebb of magic coming from Ienzo, and he turned to see the young man holding a book in his hands, lips barely moving as he mouthed the words of what could only be an illusion spell. _That_ was why he hadn’t felt any of Vanitas’ magic, and why the sigil remained cold but inactive. And as the shadows grew more pronounced around them, Naminé, Riku, Ienzo, and Demyx were beginning to blur, fading into the background as the magic compelled them to _look away, over here_.

Roxas was impressed, or would have been had it not been for the fact that he and Axel were still very much visible, and for all intents and purposes, it looked like they were getting left on their own. He looked over at Naminé, wishing he’d had a chance to ask her more questions, to find out more about what awaited them, but there was no time now. She saw him looking at her and smiled, mouthing ‘ _It will be ok’_ before another ripple of magic obscured her from view completely.

He could still feel her magic, but the swell of shadows and the panicked defenses going up around the prince and his escort were starting to blot it out. Roxas turned back again to Axel, the only one in the group who hadn’t bothered bringing out his weapons. But Axel was still tense and alert, watching the prince’s confused search of the area. Roxas wasn’t sure what Axel’s mark would be, and he didn’t like the fact that General Riku was still watching him, mouth set in a firm line of irritation.

“Sora, don’t get distracted,” he said. He whistled, a sound similar to the one Sora had used to summon Bubbles, and raised his hand. But Bubbles didn’t reappear. Instead, Roxas heard a trilling pulse over the whispering laughter of the Vanitas illusion, and then a large furry thing flew down to perch on Riku’s hand-- upside down. It took Roxas a moment to realize it was a bat, but then again, in his experience bats weren’t hot pink and yellow.

The creature settled in on the general’s arm, then spread its wings and screeched. Roxas could _see_ how the sound cut through the illusion spell, the shadows sinking back into the ground like puppets with broken strings. The haunting laughter stopped as the spell began to dispel, but it had done its job. As the shadows cleared, Naminé’s Riku surged forward, locking his weapon with Sora’s.

The prince staggered back from the unexpected attack, but Riku was already on the move, darting through the masked knights and cutting them down with quick, efficient lunges. He moved through the group in a sweeping arc, taking out six of the knights and wounding three others. His path circled back in on itself as he dove for the prince, but Sora was ready, sword up. Their weapons clashed for the briefest of moments, then Riku jumped back in front of Naminé, holding his sword in guard position once again.

While Riku had been cutting his way through the ranks, Axel made a dash for the general, sending up a wave of sparks aimed towards the man’s eyes, and following through with his spinning discs. Roxas looked over his shoulder to see what the others were doing, but Ienzo was back to his spellwork, and Demyx was... playing his guitar. Enthusiastically, at least, but there was still a bit of the ‘desperate bard’ air to him. Beside him, Naminé had pulled another book from her supply basket and was scribbling quickly.

Roxas hesitated, not sure of what he was supposed to do in all this. Vanitas’ weapon had failed to appear in his hand, and Riku was busy creating chaos wherever he could. Axel was taunting General Riku (was _that_ his ‘mark’?), and the three other party members seemed to be just as useless as he felt.

Still, at least the book mumbling, the frantic scribbling, and the awkward dooting seemed to give the others something to do. And underneath the chaos, he could still feel the pulse of Vanitas’ magic throbbing just above his heart. He wondered if he was supposed to be trying to use that magic, or if it would be safe to do so if he really _was_ leaking like the prince had said. And he wasn’t sure of how to use it anyway-- hadn’t Naminé and the others made a point of telling him he couldn’t do anything with it?

There was a shift in the air as Naminé finished whatever glyph she’d been drawing, and she tore out the paper so she could throw it into the air. The sheet seemed to catch the wind and began to dance in time with Demyx’s music, twisting and unfurling and stretching into a human-size paper knight, though it ducked and weaved unlike any human he’d ever seen.

The paper knight fluttered and flitted across the ground, then danced on an updraft to wrap itself around the face of one of the still-mounted knights. The knight dropped his weapon and clawed at his head, trying to pry it off. Another paper knight joined the fight, then another, Naminé quickly sketching out whatever magical marks she needed to make their paper soldiers, even as Ienzo brought them to life and Demyx made them dance.

Then he felt it-- a sharp pang in his ankle, and a flare of heat up his leg. He almost kicked out in response, and checked himself just in time to avoid punting Smudge across the battlefield. The fat cat meowed, then took off, sending up embers in his wake as he made a beeline for the trees. It was enough. Roxas ran off after him, only stumbling a little when Bubbles ran up beside him, but the fat dog thing seemed more interested in running alongside him than actively trying to bar the way.

The three of them dove into the underbrush and stumbled onto a game trail, little more than a broken footpath, really, but still they sped along, the sounds of the fight behind them still too close for comfort. Roxas had to believe that Smudge knew what was best-- he seemed to be a part of Axel in some way, anyway, so his best course of action would be to follow the cat and hope it wouldn’t get too far ahead.

Smudge seemed to have the same idea. The little cat would dash ahead, alighting on some branch or high rock as Bubbles surged ahead to run circles around his perch. As soon as Roxas grew near, though, Smudge was off again to his next spot, Bubbles close on his heels.

As they ran further into the woods, the sounds of battle began to fade. Roxas slowed his steps, risking a look back, but they’d gone deep into the woods now, and while the sounds were still there, they were muffled. Fortunately, the trees hadn’t managed to block out all the light, although he was glad that his guide glowed in the dark like a low-burning fire.

Even if Smudge hadn’t brightened the way, it was impossible to get lost with Bubbles running circles around _both_ of them, running up to squeak at Smudge before turning back and nudging Roxas along. Roxas wasn’t sure how effective a guard-dog-thing Bubbles was, but maybe he was a better tracker than a guard dog. Then again, that also meant that if the prince whistled and called for him, the bouncy creature would be able to lead them right back to Roxas.

Vanitas’ mark wasn’t burning quite as much now, but there was still a chill in the air. Roxas was glad that Axel hadn’t taken his coat back yet; his hastily-patched sweatshirt could only do so much. He pulled the leathers around him even tighter, and was rewarded with a rush of Axel’s scent. They were heavier than they looked, and it dawned on him that it might’ve been some sort of armored coat.

He looked back towards the fighting again, fists clenching around the hem. Axel would be ok. He wouldn’t have given Roxas his only protection if he wasn’t able to take care of himself. Smudge wouldn’t be leading Roxas away from the group if it hadn’t all been part of the plan.

 _Still…._ He forced himself to turn forward, wondering if they were going in the right direction. In the scuffle, he’d lost all sense of which way they needed to go, and while he could see the moon and stars, he wasn’t good enough at wilderness travel to figure out which way they’d need to walk to head towards the mansion.

Vanitas had told him to just think about where he wanted to go and start walking, but he _wanted_ to be close to Axel. He didn’t want to walk these creepy woods alone without someone who’d traveled them before-- well, someone beyond what amounted to two very odd and supernaturally intelligent pets. It would’ve been nice to have someone to talk to, if it was safe.

It would’ve been nice to have a chance to say goodbye.

He heard footsteps behind him.

Roxas froze, his mind momentarily blank with fear before an instinctive panic kicked in. The footsteps weren’t heavy enough to sound like an armored knight, but he didn’t want to risk running into the prince, the general, or any of their men, mounted or not. He clambered up the bank to hide in the bushes lining side of the embankment and burrowed into thick vegetation. It probably would’ve been a more effective hiding spot if Smudge and Bubbles weren’t there to make noise--No, they _weren’t_ there anymore.

Roxas risked a peek out of his hiding spot to see what had happened to his erstwhile companions, but the path was clear, as though he’d been alone the entire time. What was more, the sounds of battle had stopped, and although he strained to hear it, they’d either managed to get far enough away that it was out of earshot, or, more likely but no less worrisome, the battle had stopped with no indication as to the outcome.

The footsteps ahead were clumsy, almost as though whoever made them was limping along and injured. What if Axel had been hurt? What if he was trying to catch up to them, and he walked past Roxas without knowing he was there? He had to see who (or what) it was.

Roxas pushed aside the branches from his hiding spot to look down on the path, hoping to catch a glimpse of whoever or whatever was making its way towards them. The little path was twisted and overgrown, though, so the figure was almost directly under him before a gap in the trees allowed him a look at the intruder.

The hart wobbled and weaved along the path as though drunk, stumbling every few feet as it seemed to overstep and scrape its back feet against its forelegs. It didn’t appear to be injured, more lost and confused. It picked its way carefully along the path, ears swiveling in every direction as it tried to listen to its surroundings, no doubt searching for a safe place to hide.

It was painful to watch, and even worse when Roxas realized that the reason it seemed so out of place was because it probably _was_ , and what he was witnessing was the first few steps of a human transformed into a beast.

His heart ached for that fellow lost soul. It did. But he had no way to turn the creature back, no way to help it out. What was more, if he truly was seeing a lost soul newly transformed, that probably meant that he was close to the border. He was almost _home_.

But where was Axel? And the others?

He stayed where he was, watching the deer pick its way down the path with tentative steps. If it could just keep walking a little longer, keep at it and get a feel for moving in this new form, it would probably be ok. He silently wished it luck, and placed a hand over his heart, feeling the sigil pulse in response.

_Where do I go from here?_

He almost thought he heard Vanitas’ laugh in response, but the deer was still plodding along at its labored pace and made no indication that it had heard anything out of the ordinary. He was probably just imagining things, the stress of the sudden confrontation and attack making him jump at shadows. At least _these_ shadows didn’t jump back.

But he now faced the serious issue of what to do next. Did he keep going and hope for the best, believing that if he followed his instincts and thought _really hard_ about the mansion he’d magically find his way back? Or did he sit here and wait for Smudge to reappear--or better yet, for Axel to show up? If Smudge had meant to be the sign to run, did his disappearance mean that it was a sign to stay put? How much time did he have til dawn? And would he know how to get through the portal on his own?

The deer was out of sight now, although he could still hear the crack of broken branches as it made its way further along the path. He’d give it a bit more of a head start, then he’d head out. He’d go slow and try to stay as quiet as possible, which would give him an opportunity to keep an ear out for Axel but still let him move towards home. Hopefully Axel would meet him before he got to the mansion’s courtyard, but if not, well, he still had his half of the bargain to uphold. Maybe Axel would stick around once he was on ‘the other side’ and they could talk some more.

He stood up and slowly eased down the embankment again, brushing down his clothes and looking back once more before starting down the path again. He moved with caution, avoiding the branches and other debris as much as possible in the hopes that he wouldn’t startle the deer ahead into running, or, worse yet, make it turn and try to come back to him for help. With any luck it would turn off onto a different path and he could continue on his way without any further incidents.

Even as he thought that, he knew he was tempting fate. He could still hear the deer ahead, quieter now, but it seemed to be going in the same way he was, or rather, whatever magic Vanitas’ spell did to affect the walk was twisting the deer’s path, too. At least it seemed to be walking at a more rhythmic pace, so it must’ve gotten the hang of things. And if Axel showed up, well, maybe he’d have an idea of how to help-- maybe they could even pass through the veil together and another soul could be saved.

As he crept along the path, the way seemed to be getting lighter. He checked the sky, worried that dawn might be approaching, but it was just the opening canopy above. Ahead there seemed to be some sort of meadow, the destination of the game trail, perhaps, and he stopped at the edge.

The deer stood in the middle of the field, nearly glowing in the moonlight. It looked like it had finally gotten the hang of its four legs, standing straight and tall, almost like a statue. But its ears were swiveling this way and that, first forward then flat against its head, and its white tail flicked nervously up and down. Roxas held his breath. He didn’t think he’d made enough noise to spook it-- had intentionally been quiet so he wouldn’t have to deal with the awkward exchange of a confused human in beast form-- but there was something bothering the creature.

He tilted his head and strained to hear something, anything, and thought maybe he heard the thud of hooves in the dirt, but it could also just be the sound of his heartbeat in his ears. The glade was remarkably quiet-- too quiet, he realized, and crouched lower in place, pressing up against the nearest tree. He watched enough television to know that when the woods went silent, that meant that there was something _frightening_ afoot.

The deer seemed to realize this at the same time. It took a few shaky steps forward, then began to trot, then _bound_ over the grass, making a beeline for the other edge of the woods. Even from this distance, Roxas could see the whites in its eyes, its ears flat against its head. Its tail flashed a warning, it leapt high--

If he had blinked, he would’ve missed it. One moment, the hart was bounding away, looking like it would make it to the safety of the woods. The massive blur of blue leapt up from nowhere and clamped massive jaws around the deer’s throat, tearing at flesh and pulling it down to the ground. Roxas lost sight of it in the long grasses, but he could hear the panicked squeals of the hart, high pitched wails over the low grumble of the duskhund’s growls and snarls. Then there was silence, and that was even worse.

The monster raised its blood-smeared muzzle to the sky and howled. Roxas fought down the urge to run, to vomit, to do something, _anything_. He needed to get away. He needed to run, to find Axel, to make it to the mansion--

Another howl, and another, then even more, a chorus of blood-curdling howls rising in the night.

He was surrounded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey friends, Zine stuff has been keeping me busy, but I'm hoping to have everything done by end of July. Wish me luck, and thanks for sticking around! <3


	11. Chapter 11

He’d forgotten how _big_ the damn dogs were. And how quickly they'd appeared the first time he saw them. He probably should have remembered that and come up with an alternative solution before he scrambled up the tree, but then again, his brain hadn’t registered the creatures as “magical hellhounds with human intelligence,” it had concluded that “big means clumsy, go where they can’t follow.” Except, of course, that while they were big, they definitely were not clumsy. And they were fast! So damn fast.

Roxas watched as the pack of duskhunds below him circled the base of his tree, snuffling and growling and snapping their teeth up at him. They were built like shaggy mastiffs, barrel-chested and powerful, and even from high up the tree he could see the muscles rippling beneath their blue coats. There was still blood on their muzzles from the poor deer they’d killed, plus who knew what other victims they’d taken down in the long night. They’d noticed him while he was still pulling himself up and onto the lowest branch he could reach, and cleared the field as he’d started up the next branch. He had no doubt he would’ve lost a leg or worse if they’d managed to get there just a little bit faster. They jumped and snapped at him, just grazing the branch he’d vacated, and he pulled himself up higher, looking for a more protected crook in the tree where he could wait to see what they did.

And then he watched in horror as they’d begun to pile up against the tree, using their sheer numbers to reach the low branch he’d just vacated, and knew that it was only a matter of time before they figured out how to reach him. Human intelligence, after all, meant past human experiences, and weren’t human pyramids stupid team-building exercises they made you do at school and crappy office jobs?

It was pure luck that they were still running on adrenaline from the recent kill. When one of the dogs managed to bite down on the branch, another tried to use that dog as a ladder to climb higher. The first dog took offense, snapped the branch in two, and then turned on the prospective climber to put it in its place. There’d been a brief and vicious fight before they’d turned their attention back up to Roxas, who was pretty sure that the only reason he hadn’t peed himself through all of this was because all of his muscles had frozen over in terror.

But he was safe, at least for now. The first hound had managed to break off the lowest branch, and the beasts were too restless and angry to try the pyramid stacking tactic again. Instead, they settled for snarling up at him, snapping at each other when one got too close, and then letting out low, booming huffs that were probably the equivalent of barks. But every so often one of them would make a noise that _almost_ sounded like speech, and he huddled closer to the tree, eyes firmly shut.

He should never have left Axel. He should’ve run away from the fight and hidden somewhere close, somewhere he could see what was going on in their battle and not stumble into the hunting grounds of the damn Hunt. What if they were still fighting and the hounds decided to investigate them instead? Would they even notice in time?

“Stop.”

The word rang out across the field, quiet, but stern. The monsters subsided immediately, licking lips and closing maws as they sat back on their enormous haunches, waiting. Roxas licked his lips, too, tasting the command. His tongue felt funny. Not in a ‘haha, you ate a pepper and now your mouth is on fire/numb” kind of funny, this was more of a sharp tang at the back of his teeth that ached and throbbed its way into his tongue. If he bit down, he was pretty sure there’d be sparks.

Footsteps approached, and Roxas craned his neck around the trunk of the tree to look down at the familiar figure below. Familiar, but not necessarily welcome. 

“You. Down. Now.” If the flat tone wasn’t enough, the mild scowl on Saix’s face was more than enough to give him an idea of where he stood in the man’s view. Saix whistled, low, then pointed back to the field. The duskhunds shot off at once, absolutely silent, and somehow that seemed even _worse_ than the snarls.

In any other circumstance, Roxas might’ve refused the command. After all, he was high up in the branches, protected from the reach of the hounds and _probably_ shielded from any direct attacks from below. But there was magic in the air, and he could feel the irritation in the man below him, and he got the impression that the longer he hesitated, the worse his situation became. Besides that, the Huntmaster clearly had magic, and even from this distance Roxas could _see_ the bloodstains on the man’s boots, gloves, and cloak. Something told him Saix was not above breaking bones to get what he wanted.

He checked the ground again, seeing the beasts gathering in the field. Once he’d made sure they really were a safe distance away and would not be coming back, Roxas made the awkward climb down, half-sliding when some of the other branches broke under his feet. With that low branch gone he had no choice but to jump the rest of the way, and he landed in an ungraceful heap by Saix’s feet.

The older man had the decency not to laugh-- he was probably too irritated with Roxas’ existence to find amusement in his humiliation. “That’s Axel’s coat.” His eyes flickered up the tree again, hesitating, then he blinked and his brows drew closer together. “Where is Axel?”

“I--” Roxas swallowed hard, then coughed, trying to clear his throat of whatever magic Saix had used to quell the dogs. He got to his feet, managing not to wobble as he stood. “He’s fighting some guys named Sora and Riku. They had soldiers with them, and they wanted to know where Vanitas was. Axel told me to run, that he’d follow, but...” He looked back in the direction he’d come.

“Damn,” Saix said, and there was genuine emotion in his voice, although it was gone when he focused on Roxas again. He stared down at Roxas as though deliberating something unpleasant, then sighed, having come to some conclusion. He turned and crooked a finger. “Follow.”

Roxas felt the pull of that command in the back of his throat, and irritating itch that he really didn’t want to obey. Still, he stumbled and fell into step behind Saix, following the man back towards the field. He didn’t appreciate being spoken to like one of the dogs, but the man _had_ stopped the monsters from eating him alive. So although he didn’t feel magically compelled to obey, he still did as he was told. Besides, anyone who was worried about Axel couldn’t be that bad, right?

He was still tense as they began to wander back through the pack, feeling the low growls rising in the beasts’ throats as they caught sight and scent of him. Saix paid them no mind, so Roxas had to assume that meant he had everything well in hand. The compulsion magic was there, an irritant in the back of his throat and eyes, but he’d felt worse since falling through to this side, and he could take a sore throat if it kept the monsters at bay.

Then they started walking through the long grasses and it was all he could do to shut out the wet sounds coming from the creatures who had not chased him up the tree. He flinched at the crunch of bone under teeth and held a sleeve to his nose to try to block out the scent of blood in the air. He immediately got a whiff of Axel, and under it, the faint smell laundry detergent, a reminder that this sweatshirt had been clean-- and in one piece-- when he took on the dare. He forced himself to think of home and everything that waited for him when he got back, and glared at the back of Saix’s head to avoid seeing whatever remained of that poor lost soul. For its sake, he hoped the death had been quick. 

He heard them long before they came into view, something akin to the grumble of distant thunder as a summer storm rolled over the town. Then he felt it, the rumble of the earth under his as a great host rode at speed towards them, the vibrations reminding him of the way you could feel an oncoming train as you waited on the platform. Then came the high-pitched squeals of horses as they broke from the trees and poured into the field, circling in a long, wide arc before pulling into towards Saix and his own mount. 

Excited by the activity, the hounds shot to their feet again and began to bark, adding to the chaos as the hunt members slowed and then dismounted. Saix stood by his own horse, unaffected by the sudden approach of the host, and idly patted one of his beasts on its head where it hunched by his side. He gave Roxas a quick look that he couldn’t read, then broke his stand at last as Xemnas reined in his beast at last. Roxas decided to interpret the look as ‘stay still and don’t draw attention to yourself,’ but he needn’t have worried. Xemnas’ attention was strictly on Saix, who bowed low before approaching his lord’s side.

“What did your hounds uncover?” Xemnas asked, looking over at the smear of blood and gore in the grass before turning back to Saix. Saix shook his head, waving the remains of the deer aside.

“That’s nothing, a simple matter of their excitement getting the better of them. I believe the pulse may have come from him,” Saix explained, then nodded towards Roxas. “Apparently Axel ran into the Prince and his consort so he sent the puppet ahead, no doubt to prevent them from taking it.”

For the first time, Xemnas looked-- actually _looked_ \-- at Roxas, his pupils narrowing as he focused. Roxas felt like he could see under all of his layers and was staring at the sigil on his chest-- and maybe the connection he now shared with Axel, too? It was difficult to tell, but neither bit of magic seemed to like being the center of attention. The heat of Axel’s magic roiled in his stomach while Vanitas’ rolled down his spine, freezing him into inaction.

Xemnas dropped gracefully from his saddle, landing lightly on his feet. He patted his horse as it turned to look at him, and it snorted before heading over towards the other riderless mounts. Xemnas listened to Saix as he spoke, but Roxas could feel the man’s attention like it was crawling over his skin.

“It appears that Axel managed to charge the thing, which can only work to your advantage,” Saix continued, voice neutral. “The knight will not be able to resist reclaiming what was his, and he will have no recourse but to broker terms with you.” 

Xemnas laughed, and Saix flinched. It was small and he quickly smoothed over his expression, and his face betrayed no further emotion as the Fae lord patted his Beast Master on the shoulder. “Your loyalty to your friend is admirable, albeit misplaced. A shame he has not learned to return it in kind.” Then Xemnas looked back on Roxas and smiled. “But you argue a fair point, and I will consider it when next I see him. Perhaps it’s time you take him to heel; you do have a way with wild and unruly animals.”

Saix flinched again, but Xemnas had already walked past him and towards Roxas, a smile playing at the corner of his lips. Up close, the man was even more terrifying. He was taller than Axel and filled out his coat with muscle, but he moved with such grace that he barely stirred the grasses as he came to a stop in front of Roxas. He reached out a gloved hand and rested it upon Roxas’ head, using a feather-light but iron-strong grip on his hair to tilt his head back.

“I begin to understand,” he said, tilting Roxas’ head side to side so he could get a better look. His other hand went to Roxas’ neck, pulling aside the fabric to expose the bruises Axel had left behind that morning. If he’d had any doubts to their origin, Roxas’ sudden blush would have told him everything he needed to know. Xemnas let out another low chuckle, and Roxas once again wished he could do the sink-into-shadows trick Vanitas had done, if only to get away from the man’s touch.

“An interesting method to charge it, wouldn’t you say?” Xemnas asked, but he clearly wasn’t expecting an answer, and Saix’s scowl flickered across his face again before he managed to stifle his emotions. Xemnas thumbed over one of the bruises. “But I suppose it’s little wonder, when _that_ is the only transference method he’s experienced. Crude, but effective. However, it seems our little rabbit might have nibbled somewhere else as well.”

He froze as Xemnas’ other fingers began to trail down, pulling aside the opened flaps of his sweatshirt, lingering over the whorls of Vanitas’ mark that rose above the collar of his undershirt. Roxas felt a thread of magic probing at the mark, but Xemnas had barely made contact before Vanitas’ magic lashed out, a black spark biting at the glove. Roxas winced at the sting, but this only seemed to amuse Xemnas. He released Roxas’ head and stepped back to size him up, fingers tapping on the pommel of his sword. 

“ _Intriguing_ ,” he said at last, then looked back to Saix. “It should serve to call out the wayward knight, perhaps if we coaxed that flame within higher. Secure it and set Lexaeus on watch. We’ll have Vexen examine it later, back at the keep. I believe there is a matter to attend first.”

Xemnas looked back towards the trees again, his focus on something Roxas couldn’t see or sense. It made little difference. As soon as they’d been dismissed Saix was at his side, urging him away from the Hunt Master and back towards the group of dismounted hunters. They all seemed more or less disinterested in him, more focused on cleaning blades and transferring the night’s catch to the extra ponies tethered alongside their mounts. 

Saix handed him off to a man almost twice Roxas’ height and breadth before turning on his heel, no doubt to  return to his hounds. Lexaeus turned out to be a man of few words; as soon as he’d secured Roxas’ wrists, he snapped his fingers and gestured upwards with open palm. The ground around Roxas tore open as earthen bars formed around him, raining down dirt and debris as they wove into a tight, interlocking weave. He crouched by instinct and covered his face as best as he could, coughing as dust began to settle around him.

He felt something press against his arm, and when he opened his eyes he saw the man offering him a canteen. His expression hadn’t changed from the glowering scowl, but when Roxas finished taking a drink and offered it back, the man shook his head. Roxas took that as an indication that he was meant to keep it, and held it against his chest as best as he could, careful not to spill anything. Seeing Roxas settle into a more comfortable position, Lexaeus nodded once, crossed his arms, then turned to look back in the direction of the rest of camp.

The cage was too low for him to stand up completely, so Roxas sat on the ground and leaned to the side so he could watch Xemnas converse with one of the other hunters. The hunter had their hood up and kept their back to him, but the cut of the clothes and the lanky build didn’t look familiar. The hunter bowed, took a step back-- and disappeared before Roxas could get a look at their face. Literally up and vanished, but given that everyone around here seemed to have power of some sort, it wasn’t hard to believe that Xemnas’ lackey would have the ability to vanish in midair.

Xemnas looked amused by the situation, as though he was awaiting some joke to come to its conclusion and he wasn’t covered in blood and dirt from a long night of hunting. Behind him some of the other hunters lined up, hoods pushed back off their faces. He recognized some of them from back at camp, although he’d forgotten their names. That creepy lightning lady saw him, winked, and blew him a kiss before leaning in to whisper something to her companion. The pink-haired hunter turned, smirked at Roxas, then went back to watching Xemnas, who still stared into the woods as though expecting someone.

And then Sora broke from the woods a few minutes later with General Riku close at this heels. Their horses moved at an easy trot, clearly in no rush to get to wherever it was they were going. They were probably looking for _him_ , Roxas realized with a start-- the fact that they looked more or less unscathed meant that their fight with Axel and the others had been brief. Either they’d managed to escape because Sora let them go, or---

He let out his breath in a long sigh as more of Sora’s people joined him in the field, and a familiar patch of bright red cleared the trees. Axel was alive-- disgruntled and captured, apparently, but it looked like he was more or less intact. It didn't even look like he was tied up, he was holding the reins of his mount and had clearly guided it along. His horse came to stand a few feet behind Sora and Riku, and a moment later the others fell in behind him. Demyx looked jumpy, but Ienzo just looked bored-- he was idly flipping through his book as though he had no interest in what was going on around him. 

Of the group, only Naminé’s Riku seemed to have taken any damage-- Roxas was sure that the young knight had fought for all that he was worth, but even that hadn’t been enough. His arm seemed to be tied up in some sort of sling, and it looked like he’d been punched in the nose. He scowled at both Sora and Xemnas alike, but stayed close to Naminé’s side. 

Sora held a white standard in his hand, waving it before he dismounted and walked towards Xemnas, the general still on his heels. Xemnas remained where he stood, back straight, and Sora’s steps slowed as he frowned at the dark Fae lord. Clearly Xemnas was playing a power game of some sort-- he was probably supposed to be polite and walk up to meet Sora on the field. When Xemnas showed no sign of doing this, however, General Riku stepped up into a semi-defensive position, and put a warning hand out to stop him,

“Our apologies for interrupting your... _sport,_ ” Sora called out, raising his voice to be heard over the snarls and guttural barks of the duskhunds. The disgust was obvious in his tone, although he pressed on. “We’ve come to bargain. You have something I want.” He pointed at Roxas, who decided that even if Axel and the others were playing the complacent prisoners, _he_ was not going to. He flipped Sora the bird and smirked when he saw the general scowl, although it was gone in a minute when they turned their attention back to Xemnas.

The Fae lord remained unimpressed. He didn’t even bother looking back towards the earthenware cage. “And what could you possibly have that I would want in exchange for this little rabbit? We did capture it fair and square.”

Sora sighed and gestured back to the others where they waited on the horses. “I’m offering a prisoner exchange. Your people for the puppet.”

The Fae lord laughed at that, a low, ugly thing that rippled back and was echoed by his hunters. He shook his head and crossed his arms. “What makes you think I want them back?”

The prince gaped at him, looking back at the group before turning to Xemnas again, face flushed in irritation. “I have _three_ of your people-- surely they’re worth more to you than a simple construct!”

The other hunters laughed at that, and even Xemnas seemed amused, which seemed to anger Sora even more. He glanced up at Riku’s passive expression, and the general nodded, his eyes never leaving the hunting party. Sora sighed and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. Roxas strained to look around the massive mountain man to see if Axel and the others were upset by Xemnas’ apparent dismissal, but his view was blocked as more of the Duskhunds began to pace amongst the hunters. One passed uncomfortably close to them, close enough for him to reach out and touch if he'd wanted to risk losing fingers. He opted for settling back further in the cage.

“As you say, it’s a simple construct,” Xemnas said at last when Sora was looking at him again. “What need do you have for it? Surely your cousin is enough, you don’t need to collect his effluvia, too.”

“ _Hey!_ ” Roxas shouted, jumping up at the insult. He knocked his head against the top of the cage and quickly fell back on his ass, coughing through the cloud of dust he’d knocked off of the hard stone. The mountain of a man standing guard didn’t say anything, just shook his head, and some of the hunters laughed again. One of the duskhunds made a grumbling bark, but Saix quickly shushed it with a hand to its head.

Sora and Xemnas continued to glare at each other, which would’ve been funny if they weren’t fighting over him like dogs over a bone. He _wished_ he could see Axel and the others again-- they’d treated him with respect, like a--

He broke that thought off before it could finish. He _was_ a person, damn it, even if he wasn’t feeling completely himself right now. He just wanted to get _home_. 

He slumped against the rock and stared up at the sky. Now that he was paying attention, it seemed lighter than before, although Axel had assured him that it was hours before dawn. He looked back at Xemnas. Maybe the spell holding onto the eternal night began to wane as Xemnas got distracted? He wasn’t sure where that would leave him if he was still here when the sun rose in the sky, but he really didn’t want to be here to find out.

He needed to get OUT of here.

Sora cleared his throat, drawing Roxas’ attention back to the bargain unfolding around him. Sora gestured back towards Naminé, who held her chin high so she could look down on them.

“I need the puppet to take back to the King,” Sora explained. “It’s evidence against the witch.”

Xemnas laughed. “The little sprite? What are her crimes?”

Riku spoke this time, voice firm. “Evasion from court justice,” he replied. “Theft from the royal family, illegal recalibration of royal property, willful obstruction of justice, unauthorized golem creation…. Quite a lot.”

Xemnas sighed and looked up at the moon. It hadn’t been his imagination, the stars _had_ shifted and the sky was beginning to lighten.

“You interrupt my duties with minor grievances from another court,” he said. Something shifted in the air around him, almost as though he started to gather the shadows around him. The hunters seemed to feel it too, donning their hoods as they began to fade into the growing darkness.  

“Tonight is _our_ night, the night we bring balance and order back to the land, and you come to us like children whining that we’ve taken your toy,” Xemnas bit out. “Peace flag or not, and treaty with your king notwithstanding, your presence wears on my patience.”

Roxas couldn’t tell if Saix had anything to do with it, but one of the larger hounds pushed its way towards Xemnas and nudged his hand, snorting until the Fae Lord scratched it behind the ear. He tilted his head slightly as he watched the prince and the general, as though thinking over Sora’s offer. Then he patted the beast and it tore off into the trees, startling the prince’s horses as it disappeared into the woods.

Xemnas watched it disappear, eyes lingering for a moment before he chuckled and turned back to Sora. Even the white patterns on his coat were beginning to fade in the growing shadows, although Roxas could still make out his face. It was a testament to Sora and Riku’s bravery that they didn’t summon weapons when he turned that terrible gaze on them. 

“I forget the softness of your courts, it’s a wonder they haven’t fallen into chaos.” His palm began to glow red, an angry orb of magic forming at the tips of his fingers. Sora took a step back to fall into guard position, the general mirroring his position. 

“We deal with traitors much differently in our courts,” Xemnas continued, and the orb lifted above his head, hovering at his shoulder. “Allow me to demonstrate.” 

It happened so quickly that Roxas could barely comprehend what was going on. One minute there was an oppressive buildup of power and a high humming noise, the next, an arrow streaked from the space above Xemnas’ head. It would have hit Naminé in the middle of the head if Riku hadn’t jumped in front of her. The young knight collapsed against her as she cried out his name, while Sora and Riku drew weapons in unison, the glimmer of a shield going up just in time to block the archer’s next attack.

Then the orb exploded into something like laser beams and the general sprang into action, jumping in front of Sora and throwing up a wall of magic, shielding them from the brunt of the attack. The horses behind them screamed in terror, some bolting off into the woods, which only riled up the duskhunds. Half the pack tore after the frightened beasts while Sora’s group struggled to regroup. Roxas got to his feet again, trying to see if he could make out what happened. He didn’t think Axel was close enough to the attack to have gotten hit, but Xemnas had also made it abundantly clear that he didn’t care about his captured people.

The giant who’d been guarding him snapped his fingers, and more rows of rock slid around the cage, making it more mesh than bars. He ran off without looking back, disappearing into the pool of shadows that had swallowed up Xemnas and his hunters. Sora and his people were fighting back, throwing spells that tore up the earth and made the ground shudder all around them. Apparently Xemnas’ safety outranked watching over the prisoner, which suited him just fine. 

Roxas threw himself against the rock again and was rewarded with an aching shoulder. He could barely see anything now with the additional layers of protection, although there were gaps he could peek through if he twisted just right. If he could get his hands free, or at least get them in front of his chest, he could attempt something with Vanitas’ sigil. But the extra layer of rock had eaten into his free space, too, and he could barely sit without his knees bumping up against the sides of the enclosure. After a few moments of fruitless struggling, he laid back again, catching his breath.

_What’s the use of filling me with magic if I can’t actually use it?_ Roxas thought, wishing he’d known what Vanitas had done to better understand its effects. He flinched as another ball of fire landed nearby, close enough that he could feel the heat. It would be ironic if he’d been trapped in a cage to prevent him from getting hurt in battle only for him to get burned or _worse_ from the magical fallout happening around him. He struggled against his bonds again, and cursed his frustrations aloud.

All at once, the stars and moonlight cut out, and a suffocating darkness curled around him, muffling the sounds of battle. Roxas startled back against the cage, and he could hear distant cries of alarm, but it felt oddly distant, as though he’d been pulled into a place where everything was underwater, moving at half-speed. Still, he felt better knowing that he wasn’t the only one suddenly struck blind, and that even the magic users in the group were surprised. And despite not being able to see, he felt safer hiding in the shadows, as though it gave him an added layer of protection when everyone who surrounded him planned to use him as bait.

He wasn’t prepared for the sudden release of his bindings, or for the sharp crack as the earthenware cage to crumble. He fell to his knees, rubbing sore wrists and trying to get the blood circulating again. He felt a familiar magic slide by him, felt the ghost of fingers rubbing his head to ruffle his hair.

“Didn’t I tell you to get out of here?” purred a familiar voice in his ear, but when Roxas turned, there was only darkness. Vanitas’ laughter filled the glen, and Roxas felt a tug at his ankles. He reached down, expecting Smudge or even Bubbles, but his fingers touched short, soft fur, and he was bitten for his troubles. One of Vanitas evil rabbits, then.

“This is the part where you run, idiot,” whispered the voice in his ear, and he felt the tug again.

“Axel--” he started, but the damn rabbit bit him in the ankle again. A familiar heat appeared at his side, and Axel was _there_ , putting an arm around him to haul him away from the chaos.

“I’m here,” Axel coughed, then cleared his throat, tugging at the cloak Roxas still had wrapped around his shoulders. “C’mon, we’ve gotta book it, I’m outta favors and we don’t wanna be here when Vanitas gets bored.”

“But I don’t--” Roxas started, then yelped as a duskhund materialized in front of them, snarling and snapping its teeth in their direction. Axel brought up his discs and countered the attack so quickly the beast was still attempting to follow them as he pushed them past. Roxas shuddered, wondering how long the creature would try to follow before it realized that Axel had cut it in half.

He looked back once, just to see what he could make out, but the flashes of magic and lingering shadows made it almost impossible to see who was where. He could hear fighting, caught glimpses of hounds and hunters fighting with the prince and general, but magic was thick in the air, causing double images before shifting into utter darkness. As Axel pulled him farther from the field, he felt some of the dread lift from his chest. But one fear remained, and he turned to Axel, trying to read his face for clues.

“What about the others?” he asked. He could feel the pull of Vanitas’ magic, and some echo of absolute _glee_ as the dark knight cut swathes through the forces of both armies, but he had no way of telling how the others were, or if they’d even escaped that first attack. “Naminé, Riku-- Riku! Is he gonna be ok?”

“Naminé can patch him up, especially now that she’s got Zee’s help,” Axel said, then pushed him aside to block  an errant ball of ice, which sputtered and sizzled into steam when it touched the wheel of fire.

“Yeah, but how--”

“Vanitas,” Axel interrupted,  then turned, frowning back in the direction they’d come. “If there’s one thing he likes more than having the upper hand in everything, it’s throwing a wrench in the works to fuck with everyone. I’d be very surprised if he hasn’t kidnapped the lot of them, just to keep them away from both sides.”

“But how did _he_ know--” Roxas started again, but Axel made a ‘tsk’ sound and shook his head.

“He used one of his floods to fill the spell, right?” When Roxas just looked at him, he made an irritated noise. “The shadow rabbit things. He was probably listening in to everything, and decided to make his move when he knew he’d cause the most chaos.”

“Oh,” Roxas said, and touched the sigil on his chest uneasily. The magic _did_ seem to move and respond to things, but he’d figured it had been his own emotions causing the upset. It had come in handy, but that was a breach of privacy he hadn’t been expecting. Then it dawned on him. “Wait, _everything?_ ”

“Like I said, he likes to keep an eye on things so he can stay five steps ahead of everyone else,” Axel replied. “ _Relax_ ,” he said when he saw the expression on Roxas’ face. “It’s not like he was in the room, he probably just got, like… a contact high or something. Feedback on the wire, such as it is. Anyway, hop on.”

He changed subjects so quickly that it took Roxas a minute to realize that he’d knelt on the ground and was gesturing to climb onto his back. Roxas barely managed to throw his arms around his neck before they were off, Axel’s coat billowing out behind them.

“I’m gonna get you home,” Axel promised as he ran breathless over the terrain. “Just a little further now, hang on!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ONE MORE CHAPTER THEN THE EPILOGUE! :D (Thank you for your patience, everything has happened so much lately)


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :D

They ran.

Over hill and dale, underhill and over, or so it seemed. Axel kept running, not the gentle lope he’d maintained the last time they’d done this, but a full-out gallop, long legs eating up the miles. Roxas wasn’t even sure his feet were touching the ground at times, the way the earth disappeared beneath them, and the lack of jostling when Axel’s feet _did_ make contact was so light that it had to be cushioned by spells. 

And Axel wasn’t being subtle anymore--they were saturated in magic, the heat of it almost uncomfortably warm under the double weight of his sweatshirt and the borrowed coat, but Roxas held on fast, knowing that any jostling would throw off Axel’s stride. Instead, he tightened his grip and hunched lower on Axel’s back, trying to become as streamlined as possible as he thought, desperately, of home.

The forest was remarkably quiet once they’d managed to escape the chaos behind them. There were definite streaks of dawn in the sky now, and the idle chatter of an early bird waking up and preparing for a new day. If this was a normal day, he’d probably be getting up for school or work-- or sneaking back home after an unexpected sleepover.

And yet… despite the fact that they were heading back (and he could feel it, a growing sense of familiarity on the edge of his mind), their surroundings remained unfamiliar. Roxas would’ve thought that Axel would take them back the same way they’d come, but maybe this was a more direct route, or maybe the lingering magic of Vanitas’ gift took them down a less-traveled path. But he felt on edge, even as he felt the sense of _home_ rising on the horizon. There was something else here, something _wrong_.

Axel seemed to sense it too. At first, he simply slowed his gait, falling back into a brisk trot as he caught his breath and continued onwards. But his footsteps began to slow, his head turning more frequently as they passed more and more unfamiliar ground, until at last he stopped, body tense. Roxas slid from his shoulders and took the opportunity to peel off the heavy cloak, sucking in an appreciative breath when he felt the cool rush of the evening air wash over him. Axel took it back without a word, too preoccupied to make small talk.

“Something’s up,” was all he said when Roxas tugged at his elbow. They scanned the area together, looking for some sort of sign of what might be going on, but Roxas couldn’t glean anything on his end. _Home_ was forward through the trees and getting closer, and dawn was at their heels, slowly catching up behind them. Between them, the quiet forest with tangled roots and thorny vines, and the low, humming drone of insects.

He didn’t know the place well enough to sense if anything was off. He didn’t remember any thickets or bugs, but they’d probably gone a different way the first time around. And he was more of a city-boy himself, and really, he didn’t go out into the woods without the gang in tow, so he had no clue what might be setting his teeth on edge. But he did remember that one night they all went to watch the fireflies, and how the evening had been filled with--

“There aren’t any animal sounds,” he realized aloud. “No crickets or birds or anything.”

“Something has them spooked,” Axel agreed, then reached back to hold onto Roxas’ wrist, giving him a gentle tug to follow. “Stay close.”

“Do you sense anything?” Roxas asked, trying his best to step where Axel stepped without making too much noise. He kept his voice low, but in the silence everything seemed to echo and amplify his voice.

“I’m not the best at magic,” Axel admitted, his voice also soft. “And the place is so charged with energy that it’s impossible to pick out specifics. Don’t you hear the humming? We’re close to the border, so stuff can get weird.” He sighed. “And I’m not exactly at full charge at the moment. Let’s hope we can sneak past whatever it is without incident.”

They crept along as quietly as they could, the path twisting and turning around them as they encountered dense thickets of tightly woven thorns, or flowering vines that dripped magic-- actual, physical magic that was apparently so toxic it burned the ground beneath. On and on they walked, the peripheral feeling of _home_ shifting as they kept getting turned around, until at last Axel put out his hand to indicate they should stop.

“We’re walking in circles,” he said, voice normal. “It’s a trap.”

A sudden gust of wind rattled the trees around them, the petals of the toxic flowers breaking off in a flurry and dancing towards them as they shielded their eyes from the sudden disturbance. Axel brought up the flap of his coat to block the worst of the debris, and when the wind died down, he scowled into the surrounding darkness.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen _you_ two work together before,” he said, moving just enough that Roxas could make out the forms of two hunters standing in their path. One was the pink-haired man who’d been with the woman, the other was the warrior he’d seen practicing with spears. The pink haired man laughed, although the spearman continued to frown.

“It’s easy to forget how very _young_ you are,” the pink-haired man chuckled, “when you’ve already mastered the art of being a thorn in everyone’s side.”

He reached over and plucked one of the poisonous flowers and took a deep breath, inhaling the fragrance without any apparent ill effect. The reason became more apparent when the man pressed his lips to the stem and another shoot erupted from the vine, expanding into another blossom. He laughed again and threw the flowers at Axel, who batted them away with the coat. The flowers landed on the ground behind them, then exploded into a lattice of twisting vines and thorns, effectively cutting off their escape route.

“Enough,” the other man said, clearly done with both Axel and the flower wielder. “Axel, you are to return with us immediately. Lord Xemnas is most displeased.”

“Let’s be honest here, though,” Axel quipped, although there was a bit of a strain in his voice. “Is he _ever_ actually happy? Think I’ll take my chances on the lam.”

“I wouldn’t recommend those odds, my dear boy,” came the familiar clipped voice of yet another hunter. The darkness rippled and the tall blonde with the accent stepped through, tossing a coin as he stood to the side of the spearman. 

“Three against one is hardly fair, but that’s never stopped you before,” Axel said, then laughed as he got a good look at the man. “Still, looks like you got walloped pretty good, huh? What’d you do, insult the Prince’s boyfriend?”

The blonde man _did_ look a bit disheveled; his face had bruises that hadn’t been there earlier, and it looked like he’d lost some of his piercings along his ear. There were also distinctly tooth-shaped punctures in the man’s coat, and Roxas realized that they were probably from Bubbles, not one of the duskhunds. He felt a sudden pang of worry for the weird cat dog thing-- he might’ve been helping the enemies, but he’d seemed nice enough.

But he had to stay focused on the increasingly tense situation-- there were now three hunters barring their way, and they seemed in much better condition than Axel. Not to mention their exit was blocked off, and the sky was growing brighter, and in the distance he could _still_ hear the baying of the hounds. 

“Oh no, whatever will you think with there being _four_ of us?” 

The female hunter interrupted Roxas’ thoughts as she materialized beside the pink-haired man, then chuckled at Axel’s low curse. She let out an affronted gasp, tittering behind her hand. “Axel, I’m surprised! I would’ve thought you’d be happy to see that all your pals escaped that nasty little surprise you sprung on us.”

“Didn’t I stab you?” Axel asked, which only caused her to laugh harder. The embroidered threads along her coat began to glow again, reminding Roxas that she wreathed herself with electricity. If she was anything like Axel and his use of fire, they were in for a bad time.

“So rude,” she said, then turned to the plant whisperer and the tall spearman. “Xemnas didn’t specify dead or alive, right?”

“I believe the word was ‘intact’,” the flower man replied as he mirrored her wide grin. “No specification as to whether or not he needed the body breathing.”

“Larxene, Marluxia, enough,” the spearman interrupted, cutting them off with a wave of his hand. He turned to Axel and one of his spears materialized behind him, point aimed at the pair of them. “Axel, it should be plain enough by now that you cannot hope to outrun all of us. I cannot offer assurances of Lord Xemnas’ mercy, but I do know that resisting will only make things worse.”

Axel took a step back, almost bumping into Roxas, but the blond man spoke up again.

“No shame in folding, son,” he said, although he didn’t really look old enough to be calling Axel that. Then again, Fae probably didn’t look their age, so there was no way to tell how old… well, _any_ of them were. Still, Roxas could feel Axel’s hackle rise at the snub, and what was more, he felt the stirring of magic, too. 

“Get ready,” Axel said, and Roxas wondered if that meant he should try to find a weapon, or if they were going to try to run for it ( _where, though?)_. But he was clearly gearing up for some sort of attack, and Roxas tensed, ready to figure it out whenever Axel made his move.

“I’m not particularly fond of this game,” he said louder so the hunters could hear him. He brought up a ball of fire, then another, then another, juggling more and more. He passed them back and forth between his hands, picking up the pace. The hunters looked unimpressed, although Roxas hadn’t seen anything like it. He took a step back, waiting to see what Axel would do.

“Haven’t you realized?” Axel asked, and the fireballs stopped, hovering in a perfect circle in front of him. “I play by my own rules.” He stuck his hand in the middle of the circle and summoned his disc, which caught the fireballs and sent them spinning in all directions as he raised the weapon above his head.

The hunters cursed and threw up barriers to deflect the magic, but more importantly, the thorns behind them caught fire immediately, shriveling and spitting out flaming sap as they died. Axel spun on his heel and hauled Roxas through the burning bushes, speed and escape his only goal. Roxas stumbled along behind him, not daring to risk a look back, but he could hear the angry curses behind them.

He felt the hairs along the back of his neck rise and a crackle in his teeth, which was the only warning he had before a lightning bolt shot past them, cracking a tree in half and sending it careening down into their path. Axel blasted the falling trunk with fire, which slowed it long enough that they managed to slip under and away from the falling embers. Roxas coughed through the smoke, trying to shield his eyes from the ashes caught up in the wind, and followed blindly after the sound of Axel’s frantic footsteps.

“How did they manage to catch up to us so quickly?” Roxas asked when the air had cleared enough for him to speak. Axel pulled him out of the way as another branch attempted to impale them, then pushed him forward, keeping a hand on his head so they’d maintain a low profile.

“I told you, I suck at magic,” Axel replied through gritted teeth. “I never got the hang of portals, I have to run the old fashioned way. I only have one more trick up my sleeve and I _really_ didn’t wanna have to play that card.”

“Yeah, well, I _really_ don’t wanna end up being dragged back to your boss by those goons,” Roxas spat, then yelped as Axel pulled him against his chest and rolled them down the embankment, narrowly avoiding another bolt of lightning that shot out overhead. They ended up splashing into a creek bed, less running water and more of a ditch with water in it. Axel got to his feet first, glaring at the way they’d come as he began to pull magic into his hands.

“Don’t think he’s gonna be my boss after tonight,” he laughed, although the sound had no humor to it. “Guess there’s no help for it, then. Time to up the ante.”

Axel began to change shape in front of him, face and body elongating into a massive ...something. He almost looked like a hart, his horns elongated into antlers and his limbs lengthening out to long, limber legs. But his face was more cat-like, and dark scales covered his body in a protective armor. The bright red fur that framed his face like a mane blended down to a blood-red patterning akin to Smudge’s coloring, complete with a burning ember patch of red to white-hot fur across his chest. His eyes were the same bright green, however, and he took one last long look back before turning to Roxas again.

 _We need to run. Get on_. 

Roxas figured the night couldn’t get any weirder. 

The eruption of vines behind him had him scrambling up onto the smooth scales on Axel’s back, and he dug his fingers into the bright red mane. It felt hot-to-touch, but the sting was tolerable, given the alternative would be falling into those sickly purple flowers once again. Axel kicked out at the plants with his hind feet, and where hooves touched there were sparks and the hiss and pop of burning vegetation. 

But instead of running away from the oncoming attackers, Axel turned towards them, ears flat against his head and smoke rising from his nostrils. 

_How are you at throwing things?_

“Wha-ack!” Axel didn’t really give him a chance to ask for clarification; one of the spinning wheels appeared in his lap, and Roxas scrambled to hold onto it with one hand while tightening his grip on Axel’s mane in the other. “I don’t know how to use this!” he complained. Axel snorted as he leapt back up the embankment and onto the path, eliciting another yelp from Roxas.

_Just throw it, you can do that, right?_

“Not while you’re jumping around like a rabbit!” Roxas replied, although he adjusted his hold on the heavy metal, propping it up like a shield to bat away some of the leaves that drifted towards them.

 _Standing still isn’t really an option right now_. 

As if to emphasize this, a bush beside the path burst into flower, pollen glowing from within the flowers with what had to be some sort of powerful magic. Axel leapt into the air, only to get battered by a strong burst of wind. He landed hard on all four feet, Roxas slipped a little on the scales but managed to hold on, clinging with his knees more than his hands. 

He felt something flitter past his face and he reached up to bat it away, fearing more of the poisonous leaves but coming away with… a playing card? The air around them seemed to fill with them like falling leaves from the trees, catching on the wind and gathering into a haphazard paper wall in front of them, as though the cards had fallen against some sort of barrier. A blot of dark ink appeared in the center, then the blond man stepped through, standing in their path.

Axel charged at him and Roxas braced for impact, but the man dispersed into a scattering of cards on the wind, only to reappear in triplicate behind them against more walls of paper.

“Aren’t you tired of this game?” the blond man’s voice came from all three figures, but Roxas felt a prickle on the back of his neck, and when he turned to look behind them, he saw the blond casting some sort of net in their direction.

He’d have to apologize later, but his first instinct was to kick, _hard._ Axel let out a surprised bleat of pain and shot forward, tearing through one of the paper men. The net fell short, but Roxas could already see the cards beginning to race ahead of them on the unnatural wind, no doubt preparing to cut them off again.

“We need to find the wind guy!” Roxas shouted into Axel’s ear, and although he didn’t get a response, Axel shifted mid leap and began bounding into the breeze, ears flat against his and smoke trailing into Roxas’ face. 

Roxas coughed and lowered his head, trying to suck in some air in the gaps between Axel’s leaps. Some of the playing cards had gotten lodged in the front pocket of his hoodie, but he had little time to dwell on that. Axel veered off to the left as a metal spear seemed to sprout from the ground beside them, and Roxas reached out, instinctively gripping onto the thing to try to keep his balance. 

Of course, this had the effect of Axel careening off in one direction while he pivoted around the spear like a pole. He dropped the wheel in favor of gripping onto the spear with both hands, and consequently managed to hold on when his feet connected with something solid as he spun around. The wind mage let out a startled grunt and staggered back, then tripped over one of the tree roots and fell into a cluster of the poisonous flowers.

The man coughed, but it was weak. The pollen had already began to take effect, his movements growing more and more uncoordinated as the magic took hold. In a frantic attempt to blast away the spell he conjured another powerful blast of wind, but it was too late: he collapsed into the flowers and lay still.

Roxas didn’t bother trying to see if he was going to get up. He released his grip on the spear and scooped up the wheel again. Axel was already turning back to collect him, but Roxas could feel the tingle of magic in the back of his teeth: the lightning lady was preparing another attack. Based on the magic he could more or less tell where she was, so he took Axel’s advice and just threw the wheel in her direction, hoping it would be enough of a distraction that he could scramble onto Axel’s back without issue.

The wheel caught the lightning just as it arched through the trees, spinning and crackling as it turned into a wreath of electricity. But the wind mage’s final spell still had enough power to alter the trajectory of the weapon, and the wheel went spinning on a tangent. There was another male cry as the flower man caught the backlash of both spells, and he fell to the ground in a smoking heap.

Roxas jumped aside as another bolt of lightning streaked in their direction, rolling out of the way of the attack. But the woman was _right there_ , grabbing him by the hair and hauling him to his feet, her voice shrill as she screeched down at him.

“Look what you made me _do!_ You’re gonna pay for that, you little twerp!” Roxas fumbled in his pockets, wishing he’d had the foresight to grab a stick or something. But then he remembered the cards, and while one hand grabbed at the fingers tangled in his hair, the other groped in his pocket, gathering up as many of the slippery strips of paper as possible. He threw these up into her face, and he felt her grip loosen a little.

“Why you litt--”

Axel headbutted her before she got any further, sending her flying against one of the nearby trees. She cracked her head against it in a shower of sparks and fell boneless to the ground, a pained moan the only sign that the blow hadn’t killed her outright. Roxas leapt onto Axel’s back, then leaned over to pull the spear out of the ground. It was heavy, and he’d never jousted before in his life, but he still felt better with something in his hand.

“Do you know where that card guy went?” he asked, but Axel didn’t have a chance to reply. A slow clap echoed off to their side, and the man in question walked into view.

“Well _played_ ,” the man said, leaning against the tree the woman had crumpled against. Axel lowered his head as though to charge, and Roxas hefted the spear, but the man held up his hands in a show of surrender. “I know when the odds aren’t in my favor,” he said, then tilted his head as though listening. “But it sounds like a new game is about to begin. Do you want to lay a wager on how long you’ll last?”

Roxas could hear them now, too: the distant baying of the duskhunds, no doubt hot on their trail. Axel snorted and tossed his head.

_Drop the spear, we don’t need anything weighing us down._

Roxas did as he was told. The moment he let go of it Axel sprang forward, sending up a shower of sparks as he picked up momentum once again. Roxas huddled close and tried to ignore the lingering scent of charred leaves and flesh, and focused instead on finding _home_. They were almost there, he could feel it. He’d be home and he’d be able to put all of this behind him. 

Axel snorted as though reading his thoughts, and he felt a pang of guilt. Well, _almost_ all of this. He had his promise to Axel, after all, and the thought of actually saying goodbye was… hm. He’d know him less than two days, but to say Axel had changed Roxas’s world was a cliched but accurate read on the situation. He had no desire to stick around in the place, but he wondered if Axel would be ok once he helped Roxas get back home. Not to mention Naminé and Riku, and even the other two-- they were still out there, possibly hurt. He hoped they’d be alright.

And the worst of it was that he wouldn’t be able to tell _anyone_ \-- he could, of course, tell the gang all about his crazy adventures, but they’d just think that he’d made it up or fallen asleep on the job. He could try to pretend that it really _had_ been a dream, but he knew he’d never be able to forget the events of this long and terrible night. Besides, going home to an empty house without parents would only further cement the whole ‘not actually a dream’ thing.

_We’re almost there, look!_

Ahead he could see the roof of the mansion, and this close to home, the echoing ring of the clock tower bell. Even the air felt lighter, brighter somehow, as though all of the magic was gathering at the edge of the world, waiting for someone to break through the barrier long enough for it to pour out into the mundane world beyond.

Maybe he could ask Axel about it, before he passed through the Veil. Maybe Axel would just go _with_ him, which might be easier in the long run, now that he thought about it. They could head back to his place and then Roxas wouldn’t have to face the empty house all on his own. With Axel there, maybe they could even--

A heavy weight knocked them over, and Roxas was thrown several feet ahead, cracking his head against a tree before falling to the ground. He lay there, dazed, trying to focus on the grass swimming in front of his vision, and shaking his head to clear the ringing in his ears. He rolled onto his back and waited for the spots to clear, trying to focus on the strange shapes above him. 

The black streaks eventually resolved themselves into tree branches and limbs, a stark black against a pink sky. He blinked, squeezing his eyes shut to force away additional spots, then focused on the massive black shape a little ways away-- Axel? He squinted at the form, willing it to come into focus.

They were in the courtyard-- well, this side’s equivalent of the mansion’s courtyard. He could see the gate, open and real and _beckoning_ , and he could hear the sounds of the city at night, just beyond the wall. 

But between him and home was a pack of duskhunds, although their attention was focused on Axel’s prone form. He was human again, the blow apparently knocking him out, or at least dazing him out of his spelled form. Roxas _wished_ he knew how to use the magic Vanitas had given him-- he could feel it clawing inside of him, trying to scramble out and towards Axel. He needed to _help_. What if Axel was badly hurt?

Then Axel groaned as he came to, and Roxas heaved a sigh of relief. Axel pushed himself to his knees, sucking in deep breaths and wincing as he felt the shredded leather of his coat. Roxas was close enough to see that his fingers came away wet with blood, and his panic began to rise again.

The sound of hooves was the next thing he registered, and the impact of a heavily armed man hitting the ground as he dismounted and walked towards Axel. The beastmaster, come to finish the kill. Roxas coughed to clear more of the swimming spots from his eyes, and struggled to a sitting position. Axel was already standing, hand pressed against his side and leaning precariously to one side.

“Axel.” 

There was no anger in that voice, no fury, no _emotion_ , but Axel still flinched, falling back on his heels. The man stopped a few feet in front of him, expression grim.

“Why do you persist? You must have known it would come to this.”

Axel coughed out a laugh, flames bursting out from between his fingers before he pulled his hand away. He’d sealed the cut with fire again, the skin red, raw, and angry. 

“Come to save me from myself, as usual?”

This time Saix let a little emotion escape. He sighed, reaching over his shoulder to pull at the long pole strapped to his back.

“It’s far too late for that,” he said, genuine sorrow in his voice. “Lord Xemnas demands blood.”

“I guess asking you to ignore orders to honor old friendship is out the window,” Axel laughed again, then closed his eyes. “Honestly, I’m not surprised. You always did enjoy being someone’s bitch.”

Something snapped in Saix’s expression, and Roxas swore his eyes began to glow. The beastmaster summoned one of the largest swords Roxas had ever seen, and brought it down in an arc meant to split Axel’s skull in two. Twin wheels of fire caught and deflected the blow, and then somehow they were off, running through the trees.

Roxas scrambled to his feet, wanting to help, but the duskhund caught the movement and turned its attention to him. It charged, and Roxas tried to remember how he’d managed to summon Vanitas’ sword back at the glen. Last time he’d just been desperately scrambling for something to defend himself, and the blade had appeared in his hand. He assumed the familiar Struggle defensive stance, and held out his hand, willing the blade to appear between himself and the circling beasts.

The weight of it as the hilt appeared made his arm dip, but he tightened his grip and angled the sword towards the monsters. The stickiness of the blade didn’t even register until saw the creatures hesitate, ears pricked as their nostrils flared. Apparently they recognized the scent of the blood encrusted on the blade, which meant it was probably someone in the hunting party. It’d be too much to hope that Vanitas had gotten the upper-hand on Xemnas, but it was someone of high enough rank that the beasts hesitated, considering their options. Hopefully Vanitas didn’t need it anymore, his mischief managed, and _that’s_ why the blade came so easily when he called for it, still wanting blood.

Roxas risked a quick glance over at Axel and Saix. With Axel taunting Saix, the beastmaster’s attention was focused solely on the redhead, their conversation getting lost in the metallic clink of sword against metal wheel. But whatever Axel was saying was driving Saix into a rage, his swings getting sloppier as he increased the speed of his attack. Axel bore the brunt of each attack, countering and slipping in and out of Saix’s path, which only seemed to infuriate the man further. Roxas knew it was only a matter of time before Axel let his guard down and Saix managed a lucky hit. He _needed_ to get over there and help him.

As though sensing his intentions, the duskhunds got over whatever had been holding them back and lunged, teeth bared. He had little doubt he would have been torn to shreds, just like the lost soul in the field, but the blade hummed with energy, the eye in the shaft glowing a brilliant blue. He slid into a guard position, preparing to swing at any beast that came close when the shadows around him began to boil. Vanitas’ shadow rabbits leapt out and took off in all directions, small streams of darkness disappearing into the undergrowth.

And sure enough, the hounds took off after it, unable to resist something small and fast fleeing in the opposite direction. Roxas waited until they’d gotten almost completely out of sight before turning back to the fighting men. He raised his borrowed blade and charged.

Saix had his back to him, still trying to crush Axel with the massive blade. But Axel saw Roxas coming, his eyes widening as he realized what Roxas planned to do. He spit sparks into Saix’s face and forced the other man to roll aside, then reached up to grab Roxas’ arm before he could bring the weapon down.

“Don’t!” 

Roxas twisted in his grasp and stumbled back a few feet, trying to untangle himself from Axel’s hold. As such, he was able to avoid Saix’s kick, while Axel took it full to the stomach and staggered back, sucking in air.

Roxas scrambled out of the way, the sword disappearing as he made sure to put the tree between himself and Saix. The man was going berserk, already up on his feet and surging forward to chase after Axel with his massive blade. Axel coughed and managed to bring up his wheels of fire, staggering as he bore the full weight of the onslaught. 

Saix _roared_ in fury, pulling his sword down and slicing through the underbrush, only to have the sword arc up again and fall heavy on Axel’s wheels again, sparks flying. At least, that’s what Roxas _thought_ was happening. They were moving so quickly he was having trouble tracking the fight, only catching a glimpse in the pause as their weapons met before Saix was spinning again and Axel was losing ground, step by beleaguered step.

It took Roxas a moment to realize that, no matter how he looked at it, Axel was losing.

Something happened. Roxas wasn’t able to tell what, exactly, but either Axel slipped, or Saix managed to break through his defense at last, but one minute they were fighting, and the next Axel was on his back, Saix towering above him.

“ _Desist,”_ commanded Saix, pressing the blade down harder against Axel’s throat. Axel closed his eyes and shuddered, and Roxas could see him trying to resist the compulsion spell. But his hands began to relax on the blades, and even from this distance, the flames dimmed noticeably. 

Saix saw it too, and something changed in his expression. He _snarled_ and lunged forward, headbutting Axel hard enough to draw blood, then--

Roxas watched in dazed horror as Saix forced a kiss upon Axel and the sour tang of blood magic filled the air. Axel relaxed even more, lowering his arms to his sides and giving up resistance altogether. His weapons clattered to the ground then disappeared as the fire sputtered out. Saix pulled away quickly, no more than a brief press of lips, but Roxas could see blood, and worse, he could _feel_ the binding spell settle in.

“You thrice-damned _buffoon_ ,” Saix spat, and there was pain in his voice, rough with fear. “You lost him, you lost the damn mark and you lost the damn _prince_ and cost us the Hunt. You idiot, you’ve doomed yourself and for what? A doll?”

“ _Freedom_ ,” Axel coughed. He smiled, there was blood on his lips. “I’m going back. I found a way-- he’s the key. _Come with me,_ ” this last was no more than a whisper, but Saix’s face hardened back into that implacable mask, and he rolled back on his heels to get to his feet.

“You would go back to that place, toil for some meager existence when you have the very elements themselves at your command, and an eternity to use them? I say again, you are a _fool._ ” He kicked Axel, eliciting a soft groan.

“What’s the point in having all that power if you’re kept in the doghouse, answering to a deranged master’s beck and call?” Axel spat back. He rolled to his side, not looking Saix in the eye, coughing blood on the ground. “I’ll never wear the collar as well as you.”

“Better a chained dog to live another day,” Saix replied, tone flat. He whistled, and the massive black horse surged towards him, dwindling down to a trot to stand by its master’s side. Saix reached into the saddle pack and rummaged through it until he pulled out a long length of rope. He stared at Axel, weighing the cord in his hand. 

“If the spells are too frayed, he’ll have no choice but to put an end to you. You cost him three men tonight, perhaps more. He cannot allow that to go unpunished. I say again a third and final time: Surrender, and you might live to see the dawn.”

Axel lay there, staring up at the man who was clearly going to make sure that he was taken back for what would undoubtedly be the worst night of his life, if not his last. Something passed between them, some implicit understanding and silent conversation that Roxas was not privy to, would never _be_ privy to. They shared a past life, that was easy enough to tell. They had a _past_ , perhaps not that distant, given Axel’s reluctance to fight and his reaction to Saix’s spell. 

“ _Isa, please.”_  

Saix twitched, but his resolve never wavered. He simply sighed and shook his head, disappointed.

“That name holds no sway over me, not anymore. All that remains is _Saix_.”

Saix flicked his hand, and the rope lengthened and hardened into a stiletto dagger. Axel closed his eyes, and Roxas realized that if he didn’t do something, Axel would die.

He was suddenly reminded of a day in the Struggle arena many summers ago, a day when he’d given Seifer a particularly embarrassing wallop and had yet to come to an accord with the tall blonde. With Seifer nursing a bruised ego on the ground, he’d turned to head to the showers before heading home. He hadn’t seen anything until Hayner had leapt through the air and kicked the Struggle bats out of Seifer’s hands, and the blonde had been banished from the arena for the rest of the season.

Roxas used that air kick now, landing a solid blow to the man’s shoulder. It drove Saix back a few feet, far enough away that Roxas was able to grip under Axel’s arms and attempt to haul him up into a sitting position.

“Axel! Hey! Get up, we need to move!” he said, but the red-head groaned, barely able to lift his head. This close, he could feel Saix’ magic binding Axel in place, an unyielding force that fought against Axel for every breath he took. Roxas snarled and felt the pulse of Vanitas’ magic course through him when he tried again.

“Axel, _snap out of it_!” Roxas shouted, the words laced with Vanitas’ power. The threads of Saix’s magic snapped as easily as Axel bolted upright and brought up his wheel to block Saix’s renewed attack.

Axel surged ahead, brushing off the lingering effects of the compulsion spell and forcing Saix to leap back and out of the way. Axel’s flaming wheels chased after him, although Axel himself took a few moments to stagger to his feet. 

“You need to make a run for it,” Axel coughed, and wiped away the blood dribbling from his mouth with the back of his hand. “You can feel it, right? Run home, quick as you can. I can keep him distracted a little longer.”

“But Axel--”

“No arguments!” Axel interrupted, then ran forward to meet Saix’s oncoming attack. Roxas felt his arm go cold and the blade was in his hand before he’d fully registered what was going on. The duskhund’s teeth sank down around the blade half a second later, and then he was back to fighting the monstrous beasts, momentarily distracted from worrying about Axel.

Apparently Saix had summoned more of the damn things somehow-- what looked like another full pack now circled the woods around them, cutting off his chance at escape. Even if he’d wanted to go back, the only way he could move was forward. Which was _fine_ , really, except that he couldn’t just leave Axel behind, Saix would kill him. If he was going to escape, Axel was coming with him.

But first, he had to do something about the damn beasts.

Vanitas’ sword felt heavy in his hand, the blood still dripping from the blade. But even _with_ the sword, he knew it wouldn’t be enough. There were too many of them, and there was only one of him. If only he had something to protect his back, something he could use to balance out the weight.

There was a tingle in his empty hand, followed by a new weight and a feeling of _completion_. Not in a physical aspect, but he felt as though pieces he hadn’t even _realized_ were out of place clicked together, and when he turned to face the dogs once again, he held Vanitas’ blade in front of him, and kept the new, shining bladed turned to protect his back. He took a deep breath to reaffirm this new balance, and then he began to fight.

With two blades in his hand, it felt less like an attack and more like a dance, tapping here and there against his opponents before stepping back and turning to face a new hound. But instead of the colorful beads that bounced off of an opponent in a Struggle match, he came away with blood. 

This only seemed to infuriate the creatures, but there were fewer of them standing now, and they were all bleeding. Roxas risked another glance at Axel, but before he could sight them, one of the beasts took advantage of his momentary distraction. It threw its weight against him and he fell, dropping the golden blade before he hurt himself on it, and instead bracing all of his weight against Vanitas’ blade as the beast fell with him. The momentum caused it to impale itself as the blackened metal sunk through its skull. He let out a yelp as gore fell onto him, but he was pretty sure the dog was dead. 

“Roxas!”

He rolled out from under the massive body and tensed, blade at the ready. The duskhunds circled around the site, blocking off any return to the forest. Roxas looked over at Axel, still exerting all of his weight against the berserker’s blade. He was slipping, though, and everyone knew it.

“Axel! I can help!” Roxas tried again, picking up the clockwork blade and making a beeline towards the fight. If he could even distract the monstrous dogs, get them off the scent, lead them away from Axel, maybe it would be ok. He swallowed around the lump in his throat and tried willing more of the cold from Vanitas’ sigil into the blade.

“Roxas!” Axel called out again, and risked a look in his direction, despite Saix’s attempt to break through the barrier. Axel locked eyes with Roxas, then said through gritted teeth, “ _go home.”_

There was a delicious flood of heat that flared from the pit of his stomach and out through his limbs, a tingling warmth that only increased as he turned and ran towards the mansion gate. He was smiling because of _course_ he was going home, back to his apartment with all his things, and tomorrow he’d wake up and meet his friends and everything would be normal, because of _course_ it would be, he would be _home_. Axel wanted him to go, and he wanted Axel to be happy. He would do anything Axel asked.

He passed through the first set of pillars in the courtyard and felt the stir of magic in his chest; Vanitas’ seal, apparently, unlocking the way. He slowed as he ran through the second set of pillars, time and distance seeming to stretch the space between him and the gate. The warmth was beginning to fade, but he needed to get home. Axel had told him he’d take him and they’d been fighting so he could return to where he belonged, so why had he been resisting when he clearly needed to _go home_?

He felt the echo of power in his gut and realized what had happened as he passed through the final set of pillars. He slowed as the compulsion spell’s magic began to break this close to the entrance to the mundane world, enough that he could turn to see what was happeneing. Axel was on the ground now, fighting off the Berserker and one of his hounds. Roxas wanted to go back and pull them off, but there was still enough residual power in the spell Axel had _sworn_ he wouldn’t cast to push Roxas the final few steps of the courtyard. He managed to fight the lingering magic just enough to turn back and watch Axel disappear under a swarm of hounds as he passed through the gate.

The air still hummed with the reverberations of the clocktower bell, the evening itself seeming to hold its breath as echoes danced around the dim courtyard. But time pressed on, and slowly the whir of cicadas picked up again, crickets chiming in a few minutes later. Even the wind seemed to recover itself, and it carried the smell of rain. There’d be storms later, for sure.

Roxas stood trembling amidst it all, then spun on his heel, the grip of the magic finally relenting.

“Axel!” he shouted, unsure of where the barrier actually was. He turned, frantic, and waited for something, _anything_ to indicate the spell had worked. The place was silent, although the distant sounds of town were coming to him, slowly.

He waited. Axel failed to appear, and the magic within him failed to do anything. He couldn’t even _feel_ it anymore, and when he moved aside the shirt, his skin was bare; no sign of Vanitas’s sigil, the duskhund claw marks, or even the evil bunny teeth marks. There was no evidence of anything from his adventures, except a borrowed shirt and memories that no one would believe. He was truly and utterly alone, and Axel wasn’t coming.

He slid down against one of the crumbled pillars, dropped his head in his hands, and began to shake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue will be released on 8/13! ^_^
> 
> *quick edit* Someone brought up the idea of a Q/A extensive author's notes post kind of thing-- if you're interested in that, let me know either in the comments, on Tumblr/Twitter, or on the akuroku server, if you're on there. I've got a LOT of notes on this that I'd be happy to share with anyone who's interested in that kind of thing.


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